


The Lost Boy Job

by saraid



Category: Leverage
Genre: Amy (Leverage) - Freeform, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kid Fic, Multi, OT3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:49:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24169888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saraid/pseuds/saraid
Summary: When the new Leverage takes on a case involving street kids, they get more than they bargained for.
Relationships: Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer
Comments: 24
Kudos: 165





	The Lost Boy Job

**Author's Note:**

> So I finally finished this. It's taken two years. I had a beta for part of it, the rest is mine, so blame any mistakes on me. This is mostly fluff, with a touch of angst. Someday I'll write a case fic.

The new Leverage team – Parker, Hardison and Eliot – had established themselves in Portland. They liked it there. As Parker once said, her money was there and the team was there. 

The brewpub was getting a bit of a reputation. Eliot was certain that several cops, local and state, knew who they were and where. Bonanno had probably tracked them down and tipped off at least one. They'd never done anything about it, so he didn't pay too much attention. They'd caught the guys who had him shot up. Eliot was pretty sure he was willing to look away now, unless they did something egregious. Hardison monitored their internal communications, and Parker occasionally broke into random offices to check actual written notes and files.  
The point was, they were getting a reputation. As semi-mysterious maybe-bad-guys who served amazing food and okay - Eliot insisted it was just 'okay' - beer.

People came for both.

The brewpub was in a gentrified area, up-and-coming. Not a lot of crime, and what there had been went away with Eliot's appearance. That meant that not a lot of homeless or genuinely hungry people found their way there, but it did happen. When Hardison wanted to set aside a table for them, like in the movie 'It Could Happen to You', the other two gently talked him out of it, for a variety of reasons - mostly because they were criminals, for Christ's sake! - and agreed to a table in the back alley. By the door, not the dumpster, and packaged meals were set out three times a day, the last being a large amount, the day's leftovers.

They were often busy, and Eliot was scary, so not many needy visitors hung around long enough to do more than pick up a bag of food and go, which is why they noticed her. The dark-haired little girl.

Eliot was aware of her first. Alec had the perimeter laced with security cameras, the footage constantly cycled through facial recognition programs on a dedicated computer that would alert them to anything higher than a 70% match or an outside visitor that returned more than twice. He'd find out who they were and they'd deal accordingly. Enemies were warned and put in their place, and they tried to help the ones that needed it, in addition to their regular jobs.

Despite that advantage, Eliot was aware of her first. He noticed because a) he noticed things, and b) she didn't take any food.  
Amy noticed her next, on her fourth visit. The girl just hung around the back for a few minutes and then slipped away like she knew how to do it.

She made five visits in eight days, and Amy brought it to Eliot.

"Hey boss," she came into the kitchen casually. Eliot was at his work table, tucked in a back corner. Surrounded by produce as he tried, again, to develop a vegetarian dish Parker would eat. It was an ongoing battle, but a couple of his experiments wound up on the menu and very popular.  
Today seemed to be a squash day, judging from the crooknecks, zucchini and eggplant. There was also a selection of cheeses and some polenta bubbling slowly, but Amy already knew it was a lost cause. Parker wouldn't eat anything shaped like a penis, "Except a penis!", something Amy hadn't ever wanted to know. She assumed Parker didn’t mean actually eating one. Either Parker hadn't told Eliot that or he was trying to prove her wrong. Amy knew he was doomed either way.

Now he turned, knife pointing down. Loose through the shoulders, in a white chef's coat, a dark red bandana holding back his hair, he was as relaxed as she'd ever seen him. Outside of the threesome having a couple of penis-related adventures she'd stumbled in on after hours, which she hadn't minded too much.

"Yeah?" he was clearly a little distracted.

"She's back. The dark-haired girl."

Eliot frowned a little, lines appearing on his forehead.

"She hasn't taken any food?"

"Not that I saw," Amy answered honestly, knowing their chef valued precision.

"Guess I better talk to her." He put the knife away carefully while Amy considered. Parker and Hardison, who was sort of the real boss, had gone out that morning and weren't back yet. Amy had heard Eliot speaking under his breath, which meant they were in communication, but she didn't want to know more than that. She knew enough to know that was a bad idea. But now she spoke up.

"Do you think I should go? Girl-to-girl. Plus not as scary."

"I'm only scary when I want to be." 

That startled a laugh out of her, because seriously? She smothered it quickly, but he was glaring now, arms crossed.

"Only to people who don't know you!" she reassured quickly. "Really. Not scary at all. Once someone gets to know you."

He didn't say anything, but relaxed a little. She watched him think it over. There were so many possibilities. The girl could honestly need the kind of help they provided. She might need another kind of help. Or she might be dangerous. A plant. Bait.

"I don't like you going out there alone." It was just past twilight, just dark, but everything outside was well lit.

"We don't want to scare her off," Amy said, though she was honestly a little nervous. Survive one tiny kidnapping attempt and now anything could freak you out. "You can wait around the corner. I'll scream." She would, too, but they both knew that it might be too late at that point.  
He grunted, stripping out of his chef's coat, which he threw into the laundry hamper. They sent it out to a service, no one here inclined to do the washing.

"I'm gonna be right there," he told her, deadly serious.

"She's what, ten? Weighs 50 pounds, maybe."

"63," he corrected, and she believed him. One night, after the three of them spent two weeks out of town, Eliot had carried Hardison in. The man had five inches on him, and wasn't as skinny as he'd once been. Amy had been very, very impressed, watching the smaller man carry the larger up the stairs, only pausing for breath once. If he said this girl weighed 63 pounds, then she did.

She was a scruffy little thing, but not as dirty as she could have been. Her blue-black hair was pulled into a braid, with curls escaping around a face too pointed to be called pretty or even elfin. Well-worn clothes, in layers against the cold. She had her back to the wall with a good view, hard to sneak up on. So Amy didn't.

Big dark eyes watched Amy's approach warily. Amy stopped several feet away, careful not to block the girl's escape route. Amy knew Eliot was right behind her, just out of sight behind the old brick corner of the building.

Portland could get pretty cold. Amy really wanted to ask her inside, but thought it would scare her off.

"Not hungry?" she said, friendly and non-judgmental. "If you don't like it we can fix something else."

Those eyes were smart. Shrewd.

"I'm okay."

In for a penny... "Do you want to come inside and get warm?"

The child stood taller, though she wasn't five feet. "No."

Amy waited. Eliot could be easily frustrated, but she'd seen him make a risotto for Hardison that he had to stir for more than an hour. He would wait.

After several minutes that made Amy wish for her coat, the girl spoke. Not shy or frightened, but with the wariness of any half-wild animal.

"I heard you help people here."

"We do," Amy said.

"What kind of help?"

The real question was 'what does it cost'. Amy heard it loud and clear.

"The kind you can't get anywhere else. And it's like the food - it's free."

Instead of snapping at her, the girl studied her closely.

"Tell him to come where I can see him. He's making me nervous."

"He's a lurker. He lurks." Amy grinned, having heard that sentiment many times. "He just doesn't want to scare you."

"It's scarier when I can't see him."

Eliot came around the corner before Amy could respond. Even with his hands in front of him, open and empty, Amy had to repress a shudder. The chef was not happy. But his voice was gentle.

"Hi. What can I do ya for?"

"I need you to find someone."

"How did you find us?"

"A boy told me. In the Chinese Gardens. We were looking."

"Who are you looking for?"

Tears filled her eyes when she answered.

"Owen. They took Owen."

"Can we go inside?" Amy asked. "I'm freezing."

"There's some good stew left from dinner," Eliot added. "Worth coming in for."

"Can you find Owen?"

Eliot's jaw tightened. "I don't know enough to make any promises."

She ducked her head, wiping her eyes with both hands.

"That's okay. I didn't really think you could."

"We don't know yet," Amy urged gently. "Come talk."

"My partners will be back soon. They'll want to help."

Amy was relieved to hear that. Hardison and Parker were good at initial interviews, and slim, cute blonde Parker could be very non-threatening.

It took longer than Eliot wanted for Parker and Alec to get home. Of course, any time they took off on their own it took too long, in his opinion. He knew they felt the same way when he partnered off with one or the other for a playdate. Today his lovers had gone on a vineyard tour. Something he usually would have been interested in, but there was this developing situation they were all aware of, the brewpub had been expecting a big delivery - he'd decided to change out the chairs, and the two of them, Parker and Alec, hadn't had any exclusive time in a while. Eliot had gone to a traveling museum exhibit on spy tech with Alec and illegally base jumping in Washington Park - at night - with Parker, it was their turn. They had found that couple dates, two at a time, helped keep the balance between the three of them.

Amy was plying the girl with big butterscotch cookies when the door finally opened. It was past closing, there was no one else there; he watched as the pair split up to leave the girl an escape route out the obviously unlocked door. Just to make it as clear as possible, Alec stopped to prop the door open, the night air spilling in.

"Cookies!" Parker grabbed a couple of them and munched down on the first while Eliot rolled his eyes at her. He always made sure there were fresh cookies; in the apartment, the brewpub, and the food bags outside. These were crunchy at the edges and chewy in the middles and Parker had declared them her almost-favorite.

Alec bypassed the cookies in favor of leaning over Eliot for a long, smooth kiss. Eliot heard the girl make a noise but ignored it. It had taken him far too long to get to this stage, comfortable with loving PDAs, and he wasn't stopping it for anyone.

Alec's hand slid to the back of Eliot's head, tipping him to just the right angle, and then Parker was sliding onto his lap, straddling him, her face tilted up to get her share. It may have been too much, in the PDA department, but there was no one there but the girl.

After a couple wonderful moments Eliot gently nudged Parker from the kiss. It took a little more encouragement to get her out of his lap, but Alec confiscated the plate of cookies and moved to the other side of the table with them. He didn't sit down and block in the girl, but he did wiggle the plate slowly in midair, enticing their girlfriend.

Girlfriend. 

Boyfriend. 

Eliot needed to do something about those titles, someday soon.

Parker popped up with less than her usual energy - probably trying not to frighten the girl, who was staring at them wide-eyes - and held out a pale hand.

"Hi. I'm Parker. If you need help you're in the right place."

The girl continued to stare. Parker's hand remained outstretched; what was awkward for other people seldom registered with her. As she waited the girl blinked a little and then, slowly, reached to shake the offered hand.

"Now you tell me your name," Parker said. Alec groaned, and stuffed a whole cookie in his mouth to keep from saying anything. Eliot appreciated the sight because he knew what else Alec could easily fill his mouth with. "Because that's how it works," Parker finished.

Eliot was getting hard. Not the time. He spread his legs slightly to ease pressure that had started with all the kissing and manhandling and the straddling.

"Um." The girl said. "Beverly. I'm Beverly. But everyone calls me Bev."

"Do you like that?" Parker asked seriously. "I'll call you anything you want. That's the way it should be. Sometimes we call Eliot 'Mr. Punchy'. He grumbles and growls about it, but we know he secretly likes it."

Eliot met Alec's eyes and wished he had a cookie to stop up his own mouth. Alec was having a third.

"No, I like Beverly. It was my grandmother's name. She took care of me when I was little."

She was still little as far as Eliot was concerned, though he mentally upgraded her age from the guessed-at 10 to a very small 12. Young to be on the street but not the youngest he’d seen.

Parker shook Beverly’s hand firmly.

"Beverly, I'm glad you decided to come in. I was going to come over to the warehouse if you didn't come in soon."

"Warehouse?" Eliot and Alec said together, the hacker spewing crumbs. Beverly, though - Beverly was halfway to the door. But Parker was there.

"Calm down," she chided. "It's my warehouse. I have a lot of them. I don't mind you being there. Did you think the water and electricity were magic?"

The girl was poised like a bird about to take flight. "We thought somebody just forgot to turn them off."

Parker laugh-scoffed. "I don't forget anything."

"Wait, Parker -" Alec started, just as Eliot began to rise.

"There's kids living in one of your buildings and you didn't do anything about it?"

“I let them stay," she said, looking more confused than defensive. “I gave them water and electricity." 

"They're kids, Parker. They need -" Eliot visibly bit back his anger as Beverly started backing towards the door.

"They're fine," Parker snapped. "There's eleven of them, they have each other. Fine."

Clearly holding back words about families and schools and real homes, Eliot held up his hands. He wasn't going to say anything, especially considering Parker's childhood.

"Eight," Beverly blurted out. "There's only eight of us now. Those guys - they took Beth and Jeremy and Owen."

"You've lost three of your friends to these guys?" Eliot really wanted to suggest the police.

"I can't go to the cops. They'd send me home - I can't go home!" Her hands were fisted by her sides and her eyes welled with tears. "There's no one else who can help!"

"Hey, hey," Eliot held up both hands, stepping forward, but every step he took Beverly took another back. She was almost to the door. Would these kids give up their safe haven if they were scared of him? He couldn't take the chance. He retreated, just as slowly. But she didn't move.

"Here, hey, it's okay. They'll help," Amy stepped up, and the girl didn't move. "They'll try to find your friends, find what happened to them."

There was very little chance of finding kids that had been sold into trafficking, they all knew that. They would try, but this was probably a job bigger than them. Then again - San Lorenzo.

"Come sit down," Alec said. "We need details. Beth, Jeremy, and Owen? Guys like this don't usually keep kids around long. How long have they been gone?"

"Beth was first," she said, her eyes going over them. They settled on Parker. "They took Beth first. Two weeks ago. We heard her yell, and we saw the van..."

"Amy, can you make some sandwiches?" Eliot suggested, hoping it would put her more at ease. He'd been going to give her stew, but now he thought sandwiches would be easier. He pulled out a chair from the nearest table. This girl was too spooked to get closer to him. "Turkey and that peppered beef?"

"Yes, Chef," she answered automatically before leaving the room. Eliot eased down into the chair, making sure he wasn't facing the girl head on. 

"Alec, sit with me." He reached for his lover's hand and tugged gently. Get the two guys further away, make them less of a threat. He didn't know what bad had happened to this girl, but chances were it involved men.

Alec pulled out his own chair, kept hold of Eliot's hand. His grip was tight. Eliot loved that Alec could still try to believe the best of people. This situation would be especially painful for him.

They had never talked about it explicitly, the bad things that had happened to Eliot, that may have happened to Parker. Just little hints here and there. Parker wouldn't have sex in missionary position; she had to be on top. For Eliot, if you were going to play with his ass, you had to say so, and then work up to it. It took him two years to bottom for Alec. But no one had rushed him and they worked it out. That was one of Alec's favorite sayings; “We're working it out”.

Eliot had to repress a little shudder. Two younger, beautiful lovers and his libido was enjoying a renaissance. A long one. For a guy in his forties, he was damned lucky.

They sat quietly while Parker got Beverly to talk, about the warehouse and vaguely about the other kids there. Amy brought sandwiches and homemade sweet potato chips; a plate for Parker, a plate for Beverly, a plate for the boys to share. Eliot ate sparingly, always aware of his body and the changes age had brought. It had been a long time since he had a six pack, but even fifteen pounds heavier he was stronger than ever. Alec had researched, talked to him, convinced him. Eliot had added yoga and more defensive work to his repertoire. His number one job was protecting them and he didn't plan to give it up anytime soon.

Parker found out Beth was thirteen, Jeremy was eight. Eliot winced at that. Those were preferred ages for certain classes of pedophile.

"But Owen is only four. We did some research, he's four."

"What kind of research?" Alec asked, speaking up for the first time in a half hour. He squeezed Eliot's hand and pulled free, standing and slowly going for the laptop he'd left on the booth table. Not his primary one. That seldom left the apartment.

"I'm searching the missing and exploited children database," he said as he worked. "I'm not finding any Owens in that age group."

"Did he tell you his name or did you name him?" Parker asked.

Beverly sighed and finally took a chair near the door. "He told us. He only knows a few words. We thought he might be retarded, because he doesn't talk much."

"That's not a nice word," Parker said, matter-of-fact. "Don't use that word."

The girl made a frustrated sound.

"Slow, okay, slow. We thought he was slow because he didn't talk."

"Trauma can cause young children to stop talking," Eliot said quietly. "You have no idea where he came from?"

She shrugged helplessly. "He was in the park - that little park off Holiday Street. The one with lots of trees. Hardly anyone goes there, there are busy roads all around it."

"So you just took him?"

"He was little and cold and hungry.”

“And he just went with you?”

“He didn't even cry. Then we read the papers and watched the news, we thought someone would be looking for him."

"Not as far as I can find," Alec spoke up. "No children named Owen between the ages of one and ten reported missing in the last fifteen years."  
He didn't mention the side search he was running on Beverly. If there were people that needed punishing, he'd find them. He'd ask Eliot, later, where her accent was from. It wasn't Portland.

"But no one was," Parker said.

"No one we could find."

"So you…kept him." Eliot managed to keep from saying something angry.

"We didn't want him in the system! Jeremy and Elmore and Alina were all messed with in foster care! Owen's too little to defend himself."

"So he was taken at the Botanical Gardens," Parker continued, shooting Eliot a dirty look. Amy came out from the kitchen and began picking up plates, leaving Beverly's since the girl hadn't touched it. "How do you know it was the same men?"

"Anthony - He's the oldest, he's 15, he has a job - he saw the van. He had his bike, he followed them."

"On a bicycle?" Eliot asked.

"A dirt bike. And the van, it's brown and it’s got an orange stripe."

That was weird, kidnappers with an unusual van. Like Leverage, those guys usually tried to be anonymous. Maybe they didn't care. Seemed they'd never been caught. Or they were new to the business. Eliot snorted silently. Amateurs.

"He followed them to this abandoned office building."

"Not one of mine," Parker volunteered. “I only do warehouses. Office buildings have too many little rooms.”

"Just tell us everything," Eliot said. He wanted to get it all out. This was taking too long. He didn't trust the girl to stay for the whole thing. It didn't matter if they caught it all; he knew Alec was recording.

"Please," both Parker and Amy said.

She didn't look happy about it, but Beverly got the story out.

The short version was that three kids from Beverly's group - two near the warehouse and Owen in the Gardens - plus probably two more street kids they knew of had been taken in the past two weeks. These guys were working fast. Probably going to meet a quota and leave town.  
The good news was that they might be keeping the kids until they had all the ones they needed. Which meant the kids could be there, in that building.

Beverly had a lot of typical street kid hang ups. She didn't trust the cops, the system, or them. Eliot wondered if her group would stay in Parker's warehouse now that someone knew they were there. But they wouldn't get free electricity and water anywhere else. That meant cooking and bathing and warmth. He hoped they were being careful with space heaters. He'd have to ask Parker to check, it wasn't something she'd think about.

Hunger won out at last. Beverly ate the turkey sandwich and chips, and pocketed the roast beef. Amy disappeared silently from the room, to make up a food bag, Eliot knew. When Beverly finally fell silent, he stood, slowly. Exchanged glances with Parker. Only long experience let him read her; she was anxious, even scared. But very, very angry.

He went to Alec, both hands on the hacker's shoulders, rubbing the right muscles lightly.

"We'll go in at dawn," he said quietly. "Make a plan, get a couple hours of sleep. Parker can run recon, Alec will grab any electronic signals, and then I'll go in."

The kids had only seen three men - two to grab and one to drive - but there were probably more. There might be more teams, working in different areas of the city. It was just bad luck they'd keyed onto Beverly's group.

The plan didn’t suit the girl.

"You have to go now!" she insisted, agitated. "They could be hurting them!"

Eliot didn't point out that they'd probably already been hurt. Maybe not, maybe they were taking care of the merchandise.

"We have to plan, and rest a little, or we won't be any good to anyone." He knew he needed a few minutes to catch his breath. A quick lie down would give them a chance to reaffirm their bond - their love - and prepare mentally for what they were likely to find.

"I can give you a ride back," Amy said, coming out with a sack. She set it on a table near the girl but didn't get too close. "I've got to go, I've got class in the morning."

That actually wasn't true. She had received her Bachelor of Arts the past year and was now working on her Master's. It was more practical, hands-on, actually creating art instead of learning history and theory. Eliot knew Alec was working on setting up a gallery show for her, as a surprise. Personally, Eliot enjoyed her mix of Naturalism and Surrealism, which created interesting paintings, and her small fantasy forest creature sculptures. Even Parker enjoyed the cute, surreal critters. She had a collection of originals Amy had gifted her with.

The forest critters would do well as a line of kids' toys, Eliot thought idly. He could look into that. They were odd, but pretty cute. He knew cute; Parker slept with Bunny every night, right alongside her guys.

"I can walk." Beverly was hesitant, but also defiant. "You're going to find them? Owen and the others?"

"We're going to try," Eliot answered. "In about three hours."

"You need to stay away," Parker added. "You could mess us up."

Eliot winced, but he agreed. "We’ll free whoever we find.”

"Uh-huh." Beverly looked at the bag, clearly debating. But food wasn't to be wasted - she grabbed the bag and was out the door before they could say anything else.

They all looked at each other, then at Alec.

"I got her," he said a few minutes later. "Two blocks over. There's a kid – dirt bike, like she said - "

Cocking his head, Eliot could faintly here the rattling motor among the quiet later night city noises.

"So she's safe." He nodded at Amy. "You did great. Thank you."

She let out a big breath. "You guys are just one big adventure after another." She paused, glancing at them. "What else should I do?"

"Here." Eliot pulled out his wallet, a black credit card. "Get camp beds, mattresses, blankets. Some tents and cooking gear. Ice chests." He didn't know where the kids got money, but he was betting on a combination of begging and theft. "Jeans and sweats and a bunch of tee shirts. Plain, in lots of sizes." A clean shirt could be enough to make someone's day.

He had charities he supported, children and veterans and one no-kill animal shelter. Thanks to Alec he could toss around a lot of money. More than he and his 'real' family - who he sent money to, though he had never visited again, not since that big box store job - could ever really spend. His family cashed the checks, which kind of hurt, but he’d made peace with it. They’d accept his money, but not him. At least he knew his dad could get good medical care and wouldn’t do without as he aged.

If the warehouse kids moved on he could donate all of this stuff. It was just money.

"Take my truck,” he told Amy. “Hopefully they'll let me drop stuff off tomorrow." Parker could go with him. Hopefully they'd take the stuff.

"Here - " Alec came up with his card. "Burner cells with a buncha minutes. IPods and a few basic laptops. I bet they can figure out how to steal Wi-Fi. I can set it up so they can sign up for one of those online schools.”

That was enough. Maybe too much. They couldn't adopt these kids, couldn't make them theirs.

"No limit?" Amy asked calmly.

"Go crazy. Get yourself a new dress," Alec grinned at her, wide and white.

"You say the sweetest things, Boss." She would, too. She knew he meant it.

They waited while she got her things to leave. So late, Eliot walked her to her car, a plain beige mostly-new domestic sedan. He'd helped her choose it, stressing inconspicuous. It had all the bells and whistles, it just didn't look like it. Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he waited until she'd driven off.

Inside, his partners had already locked up and gone upstairs. For once he left the dishes for the morning prep shift, and headed up after them, taking the stairs one at a time, hand on the railing. He was tired in his soul.

Kidnapped kids, pedophile rings, abandoned four-year-olds. Sometimes no matter what they did it seemed like things just got worse.

Not this time.

"Eliot," Parker called softly from the bedroom. She leaned around the door. Wearing a pink tank and plain, black cotton panties, she looked like an angel.

"I'm here," he sighed, already starting to strip. He dropped his clothes as he went, uncaring of the mess. They were all pretty tidy, but sometimes it didn't matter. By the time he got to the door he was down to his dark red boxer briefs - he'd given up and started letting Alec buy his underwear – actually, some of his clothes, too - and then he was in her arms. He lifted her up, feeling her legs go around his waist, and they kissed, light and chaste. Parker didn't like kissing with tongue, but he gave her a brace of soft, sweet kisses and a couple nibbles before sliding her off onto their big custom bed.

Alec was already there, on the right, in his red and black diamond-patterned knit boxers. Okay, sometimes they matched up, sorta.

"Eliot," he sighed, reaching for him. Eliot sank down while Parker slithered over him. He was surprised, he'd thought she would want the middle, but she was nudging Alec into Eliot's arms. "Eliot," Alec sighed again, curling into his chest. Parker snugged herself up against his back.

"We can't give that toddler back to them," Eliot said softly. "We can find him a safe home."

"Nana would take him," Parker said. She and Nana had a mutual adoration society. But Nana was 76 and maybe not up to chasing little ones.

"I've got an idea," Eliot snuggled in closer. It felt so good, to not worry about his image or his temper and just be close.

"We'll all think about it," Alec added. "But he ain't going back to that warehouse."

Parker sniffed. "It's a nice warehouse."

"I know it is,” Eliot said. "An hour?"

"An hour," she agreed.

They both had automatic time sense, they would know when an hour had passed.

"Eliot. Parker." Alec was whispering in the dark.

"Shh, shh," Eliot soothed. He reached over Parker – plucked Bunny off the pillows and handed him to her – and then got his hand on Alec’s head. He rubbed gently.

It was only hitting Alec now. He'd been spared the worst of the foster care system, and shit like this hit him hard.

"I got you," Parker whispered, adding her hand to their partner’s arm.

"We got you."

An hour later Eliot stirred. Alec had dozed off, but Parker’s eyes were bright, she moved when he did. Together they got Alec out of bed; he wasn’t one to give up sleep lightly.

“One more blow job,” he mumbled with a tiny grin.

“Time to get up, sleepy head,” Parker teased.

“Got a job. Kids. No time for a BJ,” Elliot added.

“Damn.” Alec allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

They dressed silently, Elliot and Alec in their regular job clothes, Parker in her head-to-toe black. Alec outfitted the two of them with button-cams and the newest coms. Their stuff was handmade, the best anyone could get.

Under normal circumstances they would take at least a day to plan, but they'd done faster jobs, like the stolen heart. The kids could be moved if they waited too long, or more could be taken. So the plan was simple. They would drive to the office building. Parker would go in for reconnaissance, and then Elliot would follow, while Alec kept a lookout in the van. He would keep them organized and make sure they weren’t surprised by anything.

The building was in decent shape. A few lights were on, offsetting the chained doors, the windows on the first floor boarded up. After twenty minutes Hardison had the blueprints, hacked from the city system. Fortunately it was a newer-ish building, built in the last twelve years, so there was a digital trail.

Parker’s recon went quick. It was an old fashioned building, with big air shafts. She scampered around in them fast, nearly silent, making a whispered verbal note of everything she saw. Eliot used those whispers to form a mental map.

“Kid number four,” she said it like a prayer. “Third floor, locked office. This one’s a boy, about ten.”

“No sign of Owen?” Alec asked.

“Not yet. I’m headed for the fourth floor.”

“I’m coming in,” Eliot said, swinging around the corner of the building. The men inside – Parker had counted six so far – had all been armed, but he wasn’t worried about that, except the kids getting caught by gunfire. So far each kid was locked in an office separate from each other, with a video camera on each of them. The kidnappers were scattered through the building, walking clear rounds. They didn’t look like they were expecting trouble. Mostly they looked bored.

Moving smoothly along the wall, hanging to the shadows, Eliot waited patiently for the first to come close. He had him on the ground, broken ribs and concussion, in twenty seconds, without a sound. He considered killing him, but the police might be able to get information. Parker and Alec would forgive him; they knew how angry he was. But he didn’t do that anymore. On the other hand, he wasn’t too worried about concussions and broken bones, considering what these guys were doing. He pulled a zip tie out of his pocket and secured the guy’s hands, making it harder for him to escape if he came to.

“I see the computers, Eliot,” Parker whispered. “There’s a lot of them. They’re – running auctions? On the kids. They’re selling the kids.”

“Oh, hell no,” Alec snarled. “I’ll put a stop to that.”

“Wait,” Eliot said. “Don’t, it’ll warn them. Let me take them out first.”

“There’s four bad guys walking rounds separately,” Parker warned.

Eliot shrugged though she couldn’t see him. That made ten total. Ten scumbags that were selling children into hell. He felt his rage growing out of control and decided to let it.

Red washed over his vision and he took off, headed for the closest walking casualty.

“I see Owen!” Parker hissed excitedly. “He’s in the big office with five guys! He’s crying!”

“Is he hurt?” Alec asked. “Parker, is he hurt?”

Eliot barely heard her answer. He was too busy taking out the next guy. A harsh choke hold put him down before he could make a sound, unconscious but still alive. Another zip tie.

Eliot tore through the building like an avenging angel. Each kidnapper fell to his hands without more than a gurgle. He didn't need more than surprise and his hands for these scum. He'd once told a man that having a gun against him made it fair. It didn't. It didn't change their chances at all.

Unconscious bodies littered his path. He was silent but not quite deadly. The only thing he heard over the red of his rage was the voices in his head. The most wonderful voices. Alec joked that the new coms were like telepathy. He didn't know how true that was.

He heard new shouts, commands in the air. Parker hooted over the coms “Got one!" Eliot silently celebrated with her. He paused outside the door of the big office, crouching low.

"What the fuck?!" someone yelled inside, an angry tenor.

"Is it the cops?" a more frightened voice shouted. "Oh my God, is it the cops?"

"Go take care of those kids! No witnesses!"

"I can't get anyone on the radio!" scared guy yelled. Eliot felt his face crease in a vicious smile.

None of these guys sounded very professional; it made Eliot wonder who the brains were behind this operation. It didn’t matter; Alec would find them.

He kicked the door in and launched himself at the nearest one. The trafficker tried to get his gun up in time, but Eliot was too fast. Yoga and a regimen of massage therapy and hydrotherapy had loosened him up to the extent he was more flexible and faster than he’d been in years. Alec had surprised him with the massage therapy, taking several classes so he’d be able to help Eliot as much as possible.

Fast, fast, Eliot went through two guys, leaving one with a concussion and the other with his throat swelling as he fell. He reached for the scared guy, now blubbering, as the guy begged. Eliot was sure the kids had begged, too. The guy didn't last long.

Parker dropped from the ceiling and tazed the next one. The last one kept his aim steady, one hand grabbing for a little boy that was hiding under the desk, wailing. Eliot got a glimpse of him; pale skin, dirty, thin, wearing a pair of dingy white underpants and nothing else. He could only hope none of these guys had the same tastes as their customers and that these kids hadn’t been touched.

“You’re dead,” the man with the gun growled. Eliot smiled; his half-laugh little smile that meant he was beyond angry and into calm.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Eliot gave a tiny nod and Parker slithered up behind the guy and hit him with her adapted Taser. He went down like a sack of bricks. He could tell she enjoyed it.

“Alec,” Eliot said. “We got them all.” They would secure them and leave them there with the evidence. Drop an anonymous tip with the cops, who might go a bit nuts because there were so many guys taken out. The Leverage crew might have to lie low for a while. Take a long vacation. Eliot was in the mood for skiing.

Parker was studying the scene. She turned her eyes on him and he tilted his head a little. There was blood drying tacky on his knuckles, which wasn’t unusual.

He saw her mastermind eyes, working it out, and then she gave him a nod before turning a slow circle in the room. The computer screens showed kids being broken out of locked rooms by other kids that had come creeping in. Beverly was one of them. They hadn’t stayed away, but no one had really expected them to.

“We just gonna let them go?” Parker asked quietly. She wasn't too badly shaken by this.

“That’s what we agreed.” These kids had been traumatized, and turning them over to the cops and social services probably wouldn’t help them. They could find help from their friends, or look for it from official sources if they wanted to.

“I’m on it,” Parker said. She left to guide the group of children out under the cover of dark. Eliot turned his attention to the now sniffling Owen.

“Want me in there?” Alec asked. Eliot knew he was recording the kids as they left the building. He didn't know where they were going, but it was better than this.

“I got it.” Eliot crouched behind the desk, his face softening into a gentle smile. “Owen, right? You want to come with me, buddy?” The kid had loose, long blond curls matted with dirt and sweat, his body needed a good wash. The grubby underpants hung on him, at least a couple sizes too big.

That curly head shook vigorously, and a finger found its way into the boy’s mouth.

“I can get you out of here,” Eliot offered.

Another head shake.

“C’mon. You want some ice cream?”

Owen cocked his head. Ice cream seemed to be the magic suggestion.

“C’mon,” Eliot urged, settling onto the floor. “C’mere. I’m Eliot.” He held out his arms.

Owen took a few steps forward. Then the door opened and Parker came in and he let out a wail. But instead of hiding again he threw himself into Eliot’s arms, clearly deciding this man represented safety.

“They’re all out,” Parker announced. “Beverly with the others. Hopefully they’ll all go back to the warehouse. But she’s going to be pissed when we don’t give Owen back.”

“Owen has a chance they don’t. We’ll find a good home for him.”

She frowned. “I don’t like lying to her. They want him back.”

“Parker, we talked about this,” he had to keep his voice low, because of the little boy now settled in his arms. Parker offered a hand and he used it to pull himself up; not needing the help, but willing to accept it.

“I still don’t like it.”

“Hey, you two, I’m about to trigger the fire alarm, get the cops there – you want to get out now?” Alec sounded annoyed.

“We’re moving,” Eliot answered. With Owen held securely to his body they did move, running swift and silent down the three flights of stairs, Eliot shielding Owen from the sight of his victims. He noticed Parker glancing at them, but he wasn’t worried. Unlike that day in the warehouse, years ago, he hadn’t lost himself this time. These guys would live to suffer in prison.

Alec was there in Lucille #5 – she was dark green this time, almost black – at the front door. They’d lost or destroyed several Lucilles, and Alec mourned each one. 

Owen snuffled and put his face into Eliot’s neck. It was hot and damp. He climbed into the van, holding the boy gently.

“We should have planned ahead, bought a car seat,” he half whispered, but they hadn’t really had time.

“Isn’t he too old for a baby seat?” Parker asked, also quietly.

“He needs at least a booster seat,” Alec said. “We’ll get one with everything else. I know you hate them, E, but I found the nearest big box store open 24 hours. We need some things.”

“Crap, fine. Let’s just get out of here. I’ll hold him.”

“He’s not going to let go anyhow,” Parker said. “Eliot rescued him.”

Owen chose that moment to start crying.

“We got you,” Eliot rocked him gently. “Shh, it’s okay. I got you.”

Little arms held him tight. Alec flashed him a tender smile in the mirror, and Parker turned in her seat to watch.

“Are you sure we can’t keep him?”

“Our lives aren’t set up for kids, Parker.” God help them if she ever decided she wanted one of her own.

For Parker – for a mini Parker, or a mini Alec – they would make it work. For a moment Eliot regretted the decision he’d made after North Korea, to have a vasectomy. It made sense at the time and removed one of his great fears. He didn’t really regret it. He could have left a trail of potential hostages across the world otherwise.

Owen only cried a little. He settled when the van started to move, Eliot still rocking and crooning to him, half-singing.

When Alec pulled parked in the far end of the huge Walmart parking lot, Eliot tried to clean Owen up a bit with the wet wipes they kept in the van 

Owen immediately started to cry again, but Eliot at least got his face and hands clean, as well as his own.

“He can’t go in dressed like that,” Alec pointed out.

“I’m not waiting for you out here,” Eliot answered. They could have been made, they could have been followed – there were too many variables in the air. He wasn’t letting those two go anywhere without him.

“Your hoodie,” Parker told Alec. “We can use that.”

“He’ll drown in it.”

“It’s okay, it’s Walmart. No one will care as long as he’s covered.”

It was cool enough to be plausible. Owen was exhausted and didn’t put up a fight when the warm navy hoodie was pulled over and around him. Eliot got him securely bundled up and they headed inside.

They were unlucky enough to enter on the grocery side of the store. Parker grabbed a cart and started filling it with things, breezing through the aisles. Sugar cereal, donuts, juice boxes, cupcakes – Eliot didn’t even try to stop her. All he could do was add his own choices; lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables. Not Farmer’s Market quality, but good enough in a pinch. Alec only grabbed one thing – an extra-large box of Cheerios.

“You don’t eat those,” Eliot observed. He didn’t have to say that Parker wouldn’t.

“Little kids love these. Trust me. And they’re good for him.”

Eliot might have debated that, but Parker had reached the toy section. It would take both of them to keep her from buying out the store.

“We’ll each pick two things, okay?” Eliot sighed. “We’re only keeping him a little while, he doesn’t need that much stuff.”

“But this is cool!” Alec held up a Star Wars Lego set.

“He’s four,” Eliot groaned.

“Fine,” Alec sighed.

“Get the Legos for yourself,” Eliot said, rolling his eyes.

“It’s no fun doing it alone.” And Parker would hide the pieces.

“I’ll do it with you.”

“Really?”

“I said I would.”

“You’re the best, E.” Alec went around to the previous aisle and seemed to disappear. Eliot was looking at toy cars, but after ten minutes he began to worry. He looked to Parker, who was digging through a giant bin of stuffed animals, and then suddenly Alec was back. With a new, empty cart.

“I’m just going to get all of them,” he told Eliot gleefully. “We can set up a Lego area in one of the guestrooms, put in tables and maybe pad the floor…”

Moving Owen to his hip, where he could be held with one arm, Eliot rubbed his forehead and took a deep breath.

“Okay. That sounds fine. Now can we please finish getting kid stuff?”

“Aha!” Parker’s triumphant shout was accompanied by a raised hand waving an 18” baby-blue plush rabbit with long floppy ears.[z]

“Parker?” Eliot asked carefully.

“Every kid needs a bunny,” she answered seriously.

“Of course they do. He’s awesome. Let’s finish here and get to the clothes and stuff.”

There was a surprising number of people in Walmart at five in the morning. None of them looked twice as the quartet, Owen sleeping against  
Eliot’s chest, barely visible in the blue hoodie – as they checked out four baskets worth of stuff, including a blue plaid booster seat, a blue plush bunny, and thirty-two sets of Lego.

Back at the brewpub they entered via the side stairs. Eliot kept Owen warmly wrapped. The toddler was starting to sag, exhaustion taking its toll. 

Eliot pressed his little head to Eliot’s shoulder, ignoring the dirty hair. Once inside he headed straight for the master bedroom bath.

“Need any help?” Alec followed him in.

“I don’t know if I can get him in the bath, thought I’d shower with him.”

“I’ll get him some pajamas,” Parker stuck her head in. She seemed slightly nervous, but they knew she would tell them what was up as soon as they all got to bed.

Alec reached under Owen to tug up Eliot’s shirt. Owen began crying again, loudly, and the taller man took a step back.

“This ain’t gonna work,” Eliot griped. “Take him a minute.” He held Owen to his lover and Alec took him carefully. He’d had lots of experience growing up at Nana’s. But Owen kept crying, trying to push away from him.

“Eliot! Eliot, he’s wiggly, hurry up, man!”

“Hold onto your britches.” Eliot was stripped to his boxers in about two minutes flat and reaching for the boy, who practically launched himself back into his arms.

“If I didn’t know better my feelings would be hurt,” Alec grumbled, but he was stepping into the four-person shower – sometimes they just needed the room – and turning on the water, ignoring his own clothes. He got it adjusted while Eliot got Owen settled and managed to coax the dirty underpants off of him.

“We’ll just throw that bunch in the incinerator,” Eliot said, going into the shower. He hung back from the water, talking quietly to an obviously upset Owen.

“Hey, little man. We’re kinda stinky, you an’ me, what say we clean up a bit? Then we can get warm and dry and have something to eat.”  
He was peripherally aware of Alec gathering the dirty clothes and stuffing them in a plastic bag. It would go in a safe until the place was deserted, all evidence safely burned. There was almost no chance they’d be caught with evidence on hand, unless one of the kids told the cops, maybe because they’d taken Owen.

“Hey, Alec –“ he leaned out of the shower enclosure, opening the door. “Get that down there soon as you can.”

They couldn’t trust those kids to not say anything.

Alec nodded, understanding. He’d stuff them in a box or something. There were only a couple of early prep cooks in now. Eliot would let them accept deliveries, and soon Amy would be there to take over the kitchen. They’d be able to get some sleep, hopefully Owen too.

Owen, who was now reaching out to the water with small fingers. Eliot swallowed a surge of anger at this learned behavior – the toddler knew that water could burn. But it was only pleasantly warm, so Eliot moved closer. He stuck his hand in and splashed a little. Owen studied him, and then copied the movement.

“That’s it,” Eliot encouraged. He splashed some more, this time getting them both a little wet. Owen took a deep breath, but didn’t start crying again. Eliot splashed again, getting them pretty wet, and, when Owen didn’t cry, he slowly moved them under the spray.

It didn’t take long to get them clean after that. Eliot’s clothes had taken the worst of it, just a few swipes with the all-natural body wash Alec bought got them both clean. He felt a bit awkward washing private parts but the kid needed it. And then they were done, and Alec was there again, with the big fluffy red towels he claimed made Eliot look like sex on a stick.

Bundled up, Eliot sat on the bed, looking for Parker. She’d said she was getting the clothes and she came in with five or six shopping bags

“I got clothes and blankets and pajamas and toys…” she trailed off, stopping to watch Eliot with the boy. Alec went to stand with her, putting an arm loosely around her waist.

“Let’s start with pajamas,” Eliot said. Out of the warm water Owen was listing heavily to one side, half asleep. Parker dropped the bags and went through them, practically silent despite the plastic. She came up with two sets of little boy pajamas – Batman and Star Wars.

“Batman for Eliot –“

“And Star Wars for me – woman, you are awesome!” Alec snatched the Star Wars ones and unwrapped them. Grey and blue and yellow, with Luke Skywalker on the shirt. “These, Eliot.”

Grinning a little, Eliot accepted the clothes, grunting “Geek,” as he did.

“Rule the world.”

Eliot began working the little boy into the pjs. There were Batman underpants, too. He did need to see if Owen would go to the bathroom; that would be a demonstration. He hadn’t been wearing a diaper, so probably he was potty trained. It was surprising he hadn’t gone in the shower.  
From what Eliot had seen the boy wasn’t slow, as Beverly had said – he was traumatized. Given opportunity and some luck, he’d be fine.

“Here’s his bunny.”

Eliot tucked the bunny into Owen’s arms, then got the boy awake enough to try the toilet.

It look a little while, but he got him awake enough to pee, and then carried him to the guest room, Parker and Alec trailing after. It was close to 10 am – he could hear the pub getting busier as deliveries came and staff got ready to start serving lunch. He did menus two months in advance, so they didn’t need him, but he should probably drop in –

“Nuh-uh,” Alec said, a hand on the back of his neck. “You’re sleeping with us. At least a nap. Couple of hours.”

“Not any longer,” Eliot argued quietly, watching Parker pull down the blankets and build a pillow fort for the toddler. It wasn’t necessary, but he wasn’t going to stop her. “Got to get this kid on a schedule.”

He had dated a couple of women with kids, when he’d been younger and more hopeful. After Aimee. But only twice. They had been too vulnerable. He would have brought pain into their lives.

When the bed was fixed he lay Owen in place, gently covering him up. The apartment was on the cool side, because of Hardison’s computers, so Eliot tucked him in warmly.

Owen lay sleeping peacefully. Clean, his long curls went everywhere. He looked like an angel.

Briefly, Eliot thought about keeping him.

No. It would never work. Nate and Sophie had talked about children and come to the same conclusion. Nate might be able to go back to that life, but it had never been hers.

“Let’s get to bed,” Alec said. An unusually quiet Parker led the way. They left the baby monitor Eliot had picked up – it had sound and video – focused on the boy so they would know if he woke up.

Finally, tucked in between his lovers, partners, he needed new words for this – finally Eliot closed his eyes and let sleep take him. Just for a while.

The next few days were filled with getting to know the kid. Owen. Eliot thought the name suited him, Hardison thought it was too old fashioned, and Parker wanted to call him Roderick. Alec monitored the police reaction through back doors he’d hacked in almost as soon as they moved there. It seemed like the cops weren’t after them, happy enough to take the credit for busting a pedophile ring.

Owen woke in the night several times, usually crying. He would accept comfort from Eliot or Alec, but he seemed frightened of Parker. She wasn’t so sure about him either, but they were working on it.

On the fifth day Eliot was the first one up. Sometimes it was him, sometimes Parker. Almost never Alec, who was always up late with his computers and games. Eliot still woke with the birds – 5:00 a.m. every morning, unless he was sick or injured. He was sore today; it had been nearly a week, but the child trafficking goons had landed a few lucky punches, and the effort of taking out that many guys always left traces. Breakfast could be cereal, and some pastries he had from the pub. There always had to be something sweet for Parker.

He’d only just finished setting out boxes and bowls and plates, with the platter of the pastries they bought from a bakery just a couple blocks away.  
They were only available in the afternoon, on the snack menu Eliot had developed. People seemed to like it.

He paused, listening, and heard a few whimpers through the monitor he was carrying, so he turned to go to the guestroom. Owen was awake, sitting up and looking around. He looked scared. He was settling in nicely, but still got scared sometimes. Eliot thought that would pass.

“Hey, hey,” Eliot said softly, going to sit on the bed. This guestroom was fairly luxurious, with a large bed, fancy sheets and bedspread, walls painted a soft peach. Sophie said it was flattering. It was the room she and Nate used when they visited. “I gotcha, little man.” He held out his arms and Owen wavered, uncertain. “We’re going to be buddies,” Eliot told him.

The boy was still holding his bunny. Eliot pointed at it, scooting a bit closer.

“Do you like your bunny? He needs a name, yeah? What do you want to name him? How ‘bout we call him Blue?”

Owen looked from Eliot to the bunny and back again. He moved the bunny to wrap it in both arms.

“Not Blue,” Eliot agreed. “Maybe, hm, Felix? Peter?”

Owen shook his head, clutching the bunny. He’d kicked the covers off during the night, Eliot could see his legs. They didn’t look so skinny in the PJ pants. His feet were cute. Eliot reached out to tickle one.

“No,” Owen said. “No tickle.”

It was the most words they’d gotten out of him yet, Eliot was encouraged.

“Okay.” He held up both hands. “No tickling. What about the bunny’s name?”

Owen repeated his actions, looking from the bunny to Eliot.

“Cotton? Loppy? George?” Eliot suggested.

“Truck,” Owen said.

“You want a truck? We got some cute cars for you to play with,” Eliot told him, scooting even closer. He was right next to Owen’s legs now.

“Truck.” He shook his bunny.

“You want to name the bunny ‘Truck’?”

“Truck.”

“Okay.” Eliot leaned down and carefully lifted him. “Truck. It’s a good name.”

He carried Owen into the bathroom, where they took care of business, Eliot holding him up to the sink to wash his hands. Then it was off to the kitchen, where the boy proved Alec right, happily munching on Cheerios and then a few slices of apple.

Afterwards they went to sit on the sofa. Eliot channel surfed until he found Disney, then they settled in with Owen in his lap, watching Mickey Mouse club.

Soon Parker was there, handing Eliot a cup of coffee. She returned with a pineapple Danish, sitting on the back of the couch beside Eliot’s head. She looked at Owen and Owen looked at her for a few minutes. He leaned in closer to Eliot, who put his arms around him.

“There’s your bunny!” she said brightly. “I have a bunny. His name is Bunny.”

“We named Owen’s bunny this morning,” Eliot told her. “Owen, what’s your bunny’s name?”

Owen just stared at Parker distrustfully.

“We gave him a great name,” Eliot continued, lightly cheerful. “Owen came up with it all on his own.” He nudged the boy a little bit. “What’s the bunny’s name?”

“Truck,” Owen said quietly.

Parker grimaced. “That’s a –“

Eliot bumped her with his shoulder.

“- great name for a bunny,” she finished.

They watched TV for a couple hours, then Eliot decided that was enough. Parker had slid down and was lying on the back of the sofa now, one hand on Eliot’s shoulder and the other hanging over the edge. He was never sure how she managed to balance that way, but of course she never fell.

Alec came wandering out of the bedroom and made a beeline for the fridge, where the orange soda lived. Eliot winced as he added two apple Danish to a plate to go with the sugary stuff, and then headed for his computer. He gave Eliot and Parker a kiss on the way.

“That’s enough of that,” Eliot told Owen, who looked disappointed that the TV was off. “Let’s go do some katas, hm?”

“Are you hurt?” Parker raised her head to ask. “You’re supposed to tell us when you’re hurt.”

“No, just a little sore. I can stretch it out.”

“Want me to take him?” Parker asked, looking at Owen with trepidation.

“He can come with me.” Eliot stood, carrying the boy, and headed for the back room of the apartment, where they had a good workout space. Mats, punching bag, pommel horse, weights. He preferred free weights; there was a neat assortment of them on one wall. Bench press, leg press. Everything he needed, nothing fancy.

He was still in his PJ bottoms, but that was good to run some katas. He didn’t need to do anything strenuous today. As he got older he took better care of his body. He might be fifteen pounds heavier than he had been six years ago, but it was a healthy weight. He didn’t worry as much about things like a six pack anymore. His lovers liked him the way he was, and his ass was spectacular.

Setting Owen down, he moved to a clear section of floor and took a position. The boy was watching him.

He ran through the kata at half speed, concentrating on slow, flowing movements, keeping his breathing slow and even. He repeated it, checking Owen as he did. The boy stood, and watched. Then, as Eliot started a third run, Owen began to mimic him. Awkward and uneven, but he looked like he was enjoying himself. So Eliot stayed at half speed, switching routines, until he felt centered and steady. His muscles were warm and loose.

Alec had come in a few minutes earlier, sat beside Owen, who had apparently tired himself out. Eliot knew little boys were whirlwinds of energy, but Owen was underfed, traumatized; he didn’t have that right now.

He’d get it back.

Eliot sighed, doing a few last stretches. Owen was going to need some serious attention in the next few months. Possibly years. Eliot was convinced that the Mortons, from one of their first cases, were a good choice for him. Alec’s Nana was elderly and not in good health. Owen would need more than she could give.

He lay down on the mat behind Owen and Alec. They both turned around to see him. Then Owen stretched out beside him, apparently not bothered by the fact Eliot was sweaty.

He rested, easing into comfort. Everything was good, for the moment. It could always change, but right now it was very good.  
Alec was moving one hand, crouched like a spider, skipping it slowly closer to Owen. The boy looked alarmed and sat back up, pressed firmly to Eliot’s side.

“Gonna get you,” Alec said in a quiet sing-song. “Gonna get you, Owen.”

The hand skittered a little closer. Owen held Truck tightly, eyes wide.

“Gotcha!” Alec ran his fingers up Owen’s arm and the boy jumped. And giggled. Alec yanked his hand away and started the game again.

“Gonna get ya,” he teased. “Eliot can’t protect you…man, E, I can’t get over how good you look.”

Owen batted at Alec’s hand with his bunny. Alec laughed. “That’s a good boy.”

“Time and place, Hardison,” Eliot growled softly.

“What, I can’t admire you? All sweaty, without a shirt. I could eat you with a spoon.”

“Truck!” Owen announced. He slid back down to the floor, cuddling up next to Eliot again.

“I think it’s nap time,” Alec said. Eliot was almost blushing from the praise.

Eliot stretched again, flexing his hands and toes.

“I got him,” Alec said. “You go shower. Then you can take a nap too, if you want.”

Eliot very seldom napped, but he’d become more comfortable with the idea.

“Where’s Parker?”

“In the vents, working on something. She’s feeling a little out of sorts with the kid here.”

“But she likes him.”

“Doesn’t change how she feels.”

Alec gathered Owen up and headed for the gym bathroom. The apartment had four bathrooms; three ensuites and the gym one, which had the super-sized jetted tub. All of the showers were huge, with multiple showerheads. Big enough to share.

They hadn’t bought any books, but Alec talked Owen to sleep with a tale of the exciting adventures of a young man named Luke Skywalker.

The next week went quickly. They learned more about Owen; what he would eat, the fact that he fell asleep quickly, and he liked showers more than baths. They spent the days hanging out with him, occasionally discussing things, like where he would go, even his name.

“I just think he needs a more modern name,” Alec said, disgruntled.

“We’re not changing his name,” Eliot growled. ”It’s been his name his whole life.”

“Not necessarily,” Parker added from her place in the rafters. She was idly swinging through a few of the acrobat hoops mounted high up there. “Whoever took him might have changed his names, or the kids might have.”

“They said his name was Owen!”

“Kids lie, Hardison.”

“I just want something more important for him! Like Tony! Or Clark!”

“We’re not renaming him after a comic book character.”

“Then Nathan. We could call him Nathan.”

“Alec,” Eliot looked up from his place on the floor, where they were coloring on the coffee table. Pictures of cars and trucks and farm animals surrounded him, and he had a rainbow patch of marker on his left forearm. “If we were going to keep him we could talk about changing his name, but we’re not keeping him.”

“Nana may want to change it. Make it harder for him to be found.”

“You said no one is looking.”

Alec subsided. Truth was, no one was looking for a blond, curly-headed four-year-old. Not that he could find, which meant no one was looking.

“What about a middle name?” Parker swung down; fast, Eliot just barely held back a flinch as she sailed over his head to land lightly on the other side of the table. “Don’t most people have middle names?”

“Yeah,” Alec perked up. “We could give him a middle name. He needs one for the adoption paperwork anyhow.”

“There’s going to be adoption paperwork?” Parker asked, sitting and grabbing a handful of markers. Coloring a picture of a sedate dairy cow, she didn’t stay in the lines or restrict herself to the colors a cow might actually be. Owen himself was happily tracing the outlines of a firetruck in purple, which seemed to be his overall favorite.

“You bet. Papers saying he was given up for adoption and then papers saying he was adopted in a private adoption. There’s almost no regulation there. I’ve got him coming out of a rural family in Kentucky that doesn’t actually exist, but get everything into the right computers and no one will notice.”

“Most of those places are behind in their paperwork anyhow,” Eliot added. “Old computers and no staff.”

“Exactly. He could have come from a thousand different families.”

“A few years ago I would have used New Orleans and Katrina, but it’s been a bit too long for that.” Alec looked depressed about that. 

“This will work well,” Eliot told him, lifting a hand to brush his knuckles down Alec’s cheek.

“It’ll be airtight,” Alec promised. 

“A middle name,” Parker spoke up. “Alec’s middle name is Richard. Eliot, what’s yours?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

“Isiah,” Alec said with a laugh. “On record, it’s Eliot Isiah Spencer.”

“You know that’s not my birth name,” Eliot frowned at him.

“Never know. Might be.” Alec met his blue gaze steadily.

There was no telling how deep into Eliot Spencer Hardison had dug, and Eliot didn’t want to know. But –

“You need to quit looking. You’re going to find something that will hurt you.”

“I already stopped,” Alec softened now, and reached to grab Eliot’s hand and squeeze it tightly. “I stopped looking a long time ago.”

Eliot let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.

“Middle name,” Parker repeated insistently. “We can be snuggly later.”

Eliot squeezed Alec’s hand in return and released it. Alec grabbed a coloring sheet and turned it over, picking up a blue marker. He wrote ‘Owen’ several times, in a column.

“We’ll need a last name, too,” Eliot pointed out.

“Appalachian,” Alec said. “I’ll look those up later.”

“Not Nathan,” Eliot said. “Because we’re not keeping him.”

“Not Sam,” Parker offered with her brand of insight. “Devereaux?”

“That’s not a middle name,” Alec objected. He hadn’t written anything down yet.

“And it’s too close to home,” Eliot added. “None of our names.”

“It’s unlikely anyone could follow the trail from him to use through a middle name.”

“Taking no chances here.”

“So no Alexander.”

“And no Isiah.”

“I know!” Parker popped up and stood on the table. Owen made a sound of protest and scooted back closer to Eliot.  
“Nicholas. The church job? The patron Saint of thieves?”

“That’s perfect,” Alec said. “You rock, girl.”

“I like it,” Eliot said. “It sounds good; Owen Nicholas.”

“And a last name.” Hardison was playing with his phone. “List of most common Appalachian surnames…”

They waited patiently while he did his thing.

“The most common one is Tate. There’s a few other good ones. Russel and Whitaker and Duke. Whitt and Warren and Chambers. Lambert. Davis. Kirk!”

“We’re not naming him Kirk,” Eliot said.

“Let’s try them out,” Parker suggested. “Owen Nicholas Tate. Owen Nicholas Russel. Owen Nicholas…”

“Whitaker,” Eliot picked up. “Or Owen Chambers. Owen Lambert.””

“Owen Walker. Owen Davis.”

“He’s not going to keep this name,” Eliot commented.

“But it still needs to be a good one,” Parker said. “Until he picks his own name.”

“People don’t do that,” Alec objected.

“I did. Eliot did.”

“Normal people. Mundanes.”

“I like Walker. Owen Nicholas Walker.”

“It’s number thirteen on the list,” Alec consulted. “That means there are a lot of Walkers.”

“Should we go with a name that has more?”

“Castellaw and Duke are in the top ten.”

Parker should her head. “Yuck.”

Eliot nodded. “I agree with that. What’s number eleven?” He would deny having a favorite number, but they knew it was eleven.

“Number thirteen?” That was Parker’s favorite, of course.

“Seven,” Alec said firmly. It was the most popular number, so of course it was his favorite.

“What are they?” Parker demanded. Owen climbed in Eliot’s lap and snuggled down. Close to nap time.

“Seven is Russel. Eleven is Whitt, and Thirteen is Walker.”

They sat for a minute, considering that.

“Walker,” Eliot said.

“Walker,” Alec agreed.

“I win!” Parker said gleefully.

“Not a competition, Parker,” Eliot said as he got up, gathering Owen with him. “Owen Nicholas Walker is ready for a nap.”

“Hey,” Alec caught his hand as he headed for the guestroom. “You know, we haven’t done anything in a few days. Think we could make some plans for tonight?”

“Not in front of the kid, Hardison.”

“Can we talk about it when you come out?”

“We can talk tonight.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, Alec. Tonight.”

His lover smiled as Eliot left the room. A promise to talk about it was as good as a promise of sex. Eliot had been reluctant to fool around with Owen in the house, but Alec was sure they could change his mind. They had the monitor to alert them if Owen woke. Eliot hadn’t felt too great for a few days, as much as he down-played it, which was another reason they’d been abstaining.

“Sex tonight?” Parker confirmed cheerfully.

“Yeah mama. Sex tonight, with our favorite hitter.”

“Peachy-keen,” she said, and then went crawling up a wall back to the rafters, using handholds so small no one else could even have seen them. He watched her; not really worried she would fall, but just admiring her form.

That night Eliot took an early shower and then retired to their bedroom with a book. It was a classic science fiction novel that Alec had turned him on to. Modern thrillers hit too close to home, and murder mysteries were usually too easy to solve, so Alec was showing him the joys of the old Masters; Heinlen, Clark, Guin, Asimov and others. He really liked Phillip K. Dick’s short stories, but tonight he was working on Asimov’s Foundation trilogy. Alec planned to introduce him to modern masters when he ran out of the classics. He might even get him to read Harry Potter. Maybe he’d read it to the Owen. Alec would love to see that.

Eliot stretched out on the bed in his loose plaid boxers, a throwback to the old days. They were comfortable. He knew Alec would tease him about them, but they were also easy access.

He listened closely. He could just hear Alec’s quiet voice telling Owen a bedtime story. This one was the brave little toaster. It sounded weird, but so far Owen had enjoyed everything they’d told him. They hadn’t bought many children’s books. Eliot read him poetry, Alec told him stories adapted from popular fiction. Parker never participated in the bedtime rituals; in her defense she was seldom home this time of the night, or seldom available to participate. In the vents, in the rafters, on the roof or working on rigging, or out altogether, these quiet evening hours were her favorite free time.

Eliot didn’t have that much experience with children, but it seemed to him that Owen went to sleep easily. He’d slept through the night the last couple of days; hopefully he wouldn’t wake up tonight if they indulged themselves.

A week was a long time for the three of them to go without; ]two weeks was almost unheard of and usually because Eliot was hurt. Even then he would encourage his partners to love each other where he could watch. Eliot wasn’t surprised Alec had spoken up, and he was certainly amenable. It had only been Owen’s presence putting him off.

Alec’s voice went quiet. Eliot knew he was sitting on the bed, tucking Owen in extra carefully and just watching him. He felt an ache in his heart, that he couldn’t give them that. If Parker and Alec had a child, what it would look like; café au lait skin, loose brown curls. Sure to be tall and thin, the way both of them were. Not Eliot’s child, never Eliot’s child, but he would love it like his own.

He shook his head once. It wasn’t going to happen. Their lives weren’t suitable for children. They would have to give up everything, and they weren’t ready to do that. Parker was extra careful; she had an intrauterine device and took the pill on top of that. None of them liked condoms, though Eliot had used them religiously when he was picking up women, and they’d all been tested six ways to Sunday. He hadn’t brought anything dangerous into their bed.

It was odd. He’d thought monogamy was going to be hard. Thought it might be beyond him. There wasn’t any evidence for that. He’d been true to Aimee for years, and when he’d had the chance a couple of times later he hadn’t found it too hard. But he’d been set in his ways for many years and worried that he wouldn’t be able to be true.

Fortunately he’d been very wrong. He didn’t even look at other people now. He knew it would hurt Alec’s feelings and Parker would be confused, so he’d put that part of himself away.

“Hey, E,” Alec came quietly into the room, headed for the bathroom. Eliot marked his page and put the book on the night table, then stretched out. He bent an arm and put a hand under his head and cocked a knee out, closing his eyes. He knew he made a pretty picture on the black cotton comforter.

He was rewarded with Alec’s comment when he came back into the room.

“Look at you, Mr. Punchy. Hot as sin.”

The faintest of blushes colored Eliot’s cheekbones. At his age, with two younger lovers, Alec’s open admiration could still surprise him.

“I don’t know what I want to do with you, you look so good.”

“Enough of that.” Eliot half sat, reaching for Alec. “You’re embarrassin’ me.”

“Nothing to be embarrassed about here.” Alec crawled onto the bed. His long form was dark in the dimly lit room, only the bedside lamps glowing. Eliot got a whiff of the Armani Code body wash Alec loved. It was a complex scent. It smelled as expensive as it was. Eliot never teased a him about it. Alec liked nice things. He could be extravagant, but he was also generous to a fault. Eliot’s own bathroom products were made by Burt’s Bees, all natural. Less expensive, but just as alluring. Alec ran a hand up Eliot’s leg into the boxers. “Except these shorts, man.”

“They’re comfortable,” Eliot retorted, his own hand sliding around the back of Alec’s neck. “C’mere.”

He lay back down, pulling Alec on top on himself as they kissed. He couldn’t maintain the position for long, having someone larger on top of him could trigger flashbacks, but he hadn’t had one in years and it felt too good to never do it.

They kissed, deep and wet. Eliot’s wandering hand found Alec’s bare ass, still slightly damp from his shower. He gripped it, kneaded it, making his lover groan.

“Can I play?” Parker’s voice came from right beside him, but Eliot didn’t startle. He’d felt her come in. He broke the kiss long enough to ask “The door?”

“Latched,” Alec panted a little. They had installed the latch on Owen’s second day here, for a lot of reasons. He just didn’t need to be in their bedroom. The baby monitor showed a clear picture of Owen sleeping, Truck cuddled under his chin.

“Good,” Eliot growled, using his greater strength to roll Alec over and settle on top of him. “I feel like riding you. Any objections?”

“Not a one.”

“Parker, what do you want?” Alec asked her softly.

“I want to watch Eliot ride you and then he can go down on me.”

“Good for you, E?”

“Great for me.” Eliot held a hand out. Parker was the one that got supplies out of the night table, handing the half empty bottle of silicone lube over. It was so slippery, Eliot loved it.

“You do it, Eliot,” Alec groaned, his hands traveling Eliot’s body restlessly. He settled on his pecs for a minute, then went to caress his biceps. “Want to see you get yourself ready for me.”

“Yeah,” Eliot breathed, tilting forward and rising on his knees. “Watch me.”

He started with two fingers, making himself moan at the pressure.

“Easy, easy,” Alec petted him some more. “We’re not in a hurry.”

“Feels good,” Eliot rolled his head on his shoulders, feeling everything relax.

“Looks good,” Alec agreed.

“I’m feeling left out here,” Parker spoke up.

“Oh hey, I gotcha,” Alec reached out and drew her closer, until he could get his mouth on a tight nipple. She slid an arm around him and pressed down into him.

“Hmm.”

“Oh, mm,” Eliot added. He had three fingers in now, twisting them despite the angle. “Alec.”

“Hm?” Alec made a noise around the nipple he was gently suckling.

“I’m ready man. You ready?”

“Definitely.”

Parker pulled back, turning over with her head on Alec’s chest so she could watch with him. Alec held his cock steady and Eliot sat up very straight before he began to lower himself down. He took it in inches, making it slow and heady. Alec blew steady breaths, controlling himself until Eliot was ready.

Finally seated all the way down, his ass in Alec’s lap, Eliot closed his eyes for a minute, his hands spread over Alec’s chest and he took a few seconds to enjoy the differences in color; Alec’s dark brown, his own tan and Parker’s paleness.

“We look good together,” he observed a little breathlessly.

“Yeah,” Alec breathed. “C’mon, man, move.”

“Anything for you,” Eliot sighed back, and he meant it. They all knew it.

He moved slowly. Just rocking his hips, using his hands for leverage. Alec made soft, protesting noises, his hands settling on Eliot’s hips and gently encouraging him to go faster. Always gentle; Eliot didn’t like anything rough.

“C’mon, E,” he pleaded.

“Yeah, babe. For you,” Eliot agreed and began lifting himself. Still slowly, rising and falling like the ocean, smooth and inevitable. Soon Alec was meeting each fall with a thrust, making love almost in slow motion.

“You’re so hot,” Alec praised. “Your shoulders make me want to cry. Your arms make me want to stay in them forever.”

“Shut up,” Eliot almost whined.

"Your hair makes me want to eat you,” It didn’t make sense, but Alec was past sense.

“Shut up,” Eliot begged.

“Let me turn you over, please,” Alec begged in return.

“Just a minute,” Eliot panted. “Just a minute, Alec, I’m so close, just –“

“Roll you over and fuck you,” Alec groaned. Eliot’s rhythm was beginning to speed up. “Fuck into you, your ass so fine,”

“Alec, alright, alright –“

They flipped in seconds, Eliot pulling his legs up and Alec plunging in deep, making Eliot grunt hard. Parker rolled out of the way and then draped herself over Alec’s back, still watching, but now she was touching herself and making small hungry noises.

“God, Eliot –“ Alec gasped. They were going fast, but there was nothing rough about it. Just long, deep thrusts and quick withdrawals.

“Oh, oh,” Parker said. “Come, Eliot, I want to see it.”

Alec was the only man Eliot had ever been able to do this with. He threw his head back, gulping down air. Untouched, his cock swelled and bobbed and then began spurting thick white come. Some of it landed on his own chest, some on Alec’s. Alec made a pained noise and slid in as deep as he could, holding there. Eliot could feel him, coming inside him. It was almost too much.

Alec slid off to the side, clumsily helping Eliot scoot over so he wouldn’t feel trapped, and they lay panting together.

After a minute they heard Parker’s familiar gasp and managed to look down at her, spread over their legs, as she came. She was looking up at them, watching them. Her hand stayed busy and a minute later she came again.

“Couldn’t wait for me, darlin’?” Eliot said hoarsely.

“You were just too pretty,” she sighed in satisfaction.

“Want to sit on my face?” Alec offered.

“No, I’m good. I want to lie here and watch you kiss.”

They had their instructions. Both men turned their heads and began kissing. Light little pecks turned to deep, hungry explorations. Eliot wished briefly that he could get it up again, but those days were gone. Alec might, if they kept it up long enough. Then he could make love to Parker, and Eliot would watch that time, and they would be as perfect as they always were now. It hadn’t started out that way, but they’d had time to get there.

Awake first again the next morning. Yes, he actually slept more than ninety minutes a night – now – and he no longer grew all his own fruits and vegetables – the pub had excellent suppliers – but he still woke with the birds.

Waking early gave him private time with Owen, who was usually awake when Eliot got to his room. The guestroom. Really Nate and Sophie’s room…the little boy looked very small in the large, luxurious bed, but he greet Eliot with a smile and outstretched arms, Truck firmly grasped in one hand. Eliot lifted him and cuddled him. Owen was still quiet, but he did speak, enough for them to know he could, and that he was intelligent. He understood them just fine. Not knowing what had led to his abandonment or what had happened to him before Beverly found him, or even when he was held captive, they were okay with deciding that the quiet was the result of trauma. It was best to let him work it out on his own.

In the living room area they sat on the red and black rug with the many colored blocks Eliot had bought. Teetering towers were engineered only to be knocked down with a grin and a hint of giggle. It wasn’t long before Owen was looking at the kitchen, then at Eliot, who hoisted him onto his hip for the trip to the booster seat securely attached to one of the dining chairs, and strapped him in.

“Okay, little man, what will it be today? The chef is at your disposal.”

“Cheerios,” Owen said with certainty. Eliot made a face and leaned over him, big hands on the shiny table top.

“Are you sure? I do a mean French toast. Or blueberry pancakes, or banana waffles…”

“Cheerios.”

The kid sure had a thing for that cereal. Eliot wondered if that’s what Beverly fed him.

“Cheerios with orange juice?” They played this game every morning.

“No.”

“Cheerios with blueberries?”

“No…”

“Cheerios with bananas.”

Owen nodded vigorously. Eliot quickly made up a bowl, with sliced banana, and gave it to him with a toddler-sized spoon. He looked at the spoon, clenched tightly in Owen’s hand, and sighed a little.

It wouldn’t be much longer before Alec had the perfect background, perfect papers for the boy. Maybe two more weeks. Maybe three. Then they would have to give him up. It broke his heart, seeing how attached his partners were. Eliot knew better, but watching the curly-haired boy spill milk down the front of his Superman pajamas, it almost made him with they could keep him. It would never be more than a wish, he knew better. But he almost wished.

They still hadn’t decided where to send him. Eliot still thought the Mortons were the best choice, and he thought Parker was coming over to his side. She was more practical than Hardison. Alec was dead set on his Nana, but she was had high blood pressure and heart problems. He didn’t think she was up to caring for an active little boy. She would take him in an instant, Eliot knew that, and do her best by him. But being moved again if something happened would further damage Owen’s sense of security.

He got a banana for himself; he would eat later, when Alec and Parker got up, probably in a couple of hours. He would cook them a nice breakfast, which he often did when they didn’t have a case. Maybe they could all go someplace. Outdoors. Not the woods, but a park where Owen could play. Even Alec would like that. Eliot could make a picnic lunch. He had some good cheese, and a lot of fruit…maybe those sandwiches Alec liked.

A couple hours later he heard Alec padding down the hallway. He came into the living room scratching his stomach and yawning. Eliot and Owen had moved on from blocks to cars, racing them along the back of the sofa and smashing them together with happy giggles and Eliot’s commentary.

Owen looked up and saw Alec, then slid off the couch and ran to him. Alec bent low and gathered him up for a hug. Eliot sat on the sofa, a chunky red firetruck in hand, and reached for them both.

“Hey,” he said gently.

“Hey,” Alec returned, sitting beside him, leaning into him. Eliot offered the firetruck to Owen, who began running it over Alec’s arm.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do with all this little kid stuff,” Alec said softly.

“Send it with him,” Eliot gave a half shrug. He didn’t really want to ruin to the moment, warm and cozy and quiet together.

“Nana don’t need no kid stuff, she has tons.”

“Alec…” Eliot sighed loudly.

“Eliot…” he mimicked, and shifted Owen to the rug. Down with all the cars and blocks, Truck within reach, he was happy to go back to playing, now trying to stack blocks on top of cars.

“Look,” Eliot growled a little. “You can’t just dismiss my worries. You haven’t done any research – the Mortons are probably good parents.”

“I don’t care. I want him where I can see him, visit him.”

Eliot didn’t mention how confusing that might be for the boy. He stuck with his main focus.

“And if something happens?” he hated to say it that way, but they’d had this argument several times already, and Alec wasn’t listening.

“Then we deal with it!” Arguing in whispers was difficult, but it could be done.

“He doesn’t need to deal with anything, Alec, cut him a break.”

They stared at each other until a square green block landed in Eliot’s lap.

“Hey. No throwing blocks. Or cars,” he scolded mildly, bending to put it on the floor. Owen frowned and picked up his bunny.

Eliot felt a sudden warmth on his back, where his Henley met his jeans – Alec’s hand, spread wide. He sat up again slowly, but the hand stayed.

“I’ll do some research,” Alec said, still sounding a little bit angry. “If they don’t check out – or they don’t want him –“

“Then we’ll talk about other options.” Personally, Eliot thought the Mortons would jump at the chance for another child. They had wanted Luka so badly.

He leaned in to kiss Alec good morning. They couldn’t get carried away with Owen right there, so it was soft and easy, but they both enjoyed reconnecting, especially when they were disagreeing.

Standing, enjoying the feel of Alec’s hand as it caressed his ass briefly, Eliot rubbed his hands together.

“Breakfast. What do you want?”

“Waffles with chocolate chips.”

“Blueberries,” Eliot countered.

“Both?”

Eliot grinned.

“Not in the same waffle,” Alec clarified.

“Will you eat a blueberry one?” It wouldn’t be much fruit, but it was fruit.

“I will. I’ll eat two, but no promises for Parker.”

Parker might just eat the chocolate chips by themselves. There was no telling.

“Get Owen dressed and I’ll meet you at the table.”

Unknown to Alec, there was a bowl of Eliot’s secret waffle batter already waiting in the fridge. He knew his partners. So he could have the first one on the table before Alec got back.

There were three waffles ready by the time Alec and Owen made it back. Owen was surprisingly picky about clothes. Today Alec had wrestled him into black jeans and a red Iron Man tee over a long-sleeved blue tee. With his miniature combat boots. Eliot stopped to appraise.

“That’s freakin’ adorable.”

“I know, right? He wanted the Batman shirt, but the Bat’s kind of angry, and Tony Stark is a genius, so –“

“Waffles are ready,” Eliot interrupted the potential geek spiral. “See if Iron Dude wants one too.”

“Iron what?” Alec was strapping Owen in. Chocolate and blueberries were messy, so he broke off some plain pieces of waffle to give him before sitting down to his own.

“What time did Parker leave?” Eliot asked, turning back to the waffle iron, ignoring the question with a little grin.

“Not long after you got up.” Alec drenched his waffles in the fake maple syrup he loved. Eliot bought the real stuff, but Alec wasn’t having it.

“Wonder where she went.” Eliot flipped the waffle iron to ensure an even cook.

“To the warehouse,” Parker chirped, dropping from the vent outside the kitchen. Neither man so much as startled. “Hi.”

“Hi, darlin’,” Eliot drawled to make them smile.

“Everything alright?” Alec asked around a mouthful of waffle.

“Peachy-keen.” It was a new phrase for her so she was using it a lot. “Kids seem okay. Got the food, still have the blankets and stuff. I did a quick security round, nothing out of order.”

That meant she’d been running around town checking on things.

“Have a waffle.” Eliot pulled the fresh one – chocolate chip – for her, putting it on one of the big, square black plates they had chosen together. 

Owen waved a hand at him.

“Need some milk, little man?” Filling a red sippy cup with whole milk – the not the skim he and Parker drank – Eliot handed it to Parker, who gave it to the boy. She and Owen were starting to get along better. She didn’t seem so scared of him now.

Parker settled with two stacked chocolate chip waffles and the real maple syrup, which she only ate because Eliot said it was better. Food meant a lot more to her now, especially when Eliot cooked.

Finally Eliot sat down with his own plate, a single blueberry waffle, and cut up a new plain one for Owen.

“Like a birdy,” Parker said to Owen, who obediently opened his mouth, used to this game. Parker dropped in a chocolate chip.

“Parker,” Eliot sighed. “He doesn’t need a sweet tooth at four.”

“We’re having them. It’s not fair if he doesn’t.”

“More.” Owen opened his mouth wide. This time she dropped in a blueberry. He made a face and spit it out.

“Owen, no.” Eliot held out his hand. “Give it to me.”

“Yu-uck,” Alec sing-sang. Owen looked at him, then at Eliot before he picked up the rejected fruit and dropped it on Alec’s plate.

“Aw man, why you gotta go and do that?” Alec pushed the plate away, but Eliot and Owen were laughing.

“You were finished anyways,” Parker offered. She dropped another chocolate chip into Owen’s mouth. He stopped laughing to eat it.

“So I thought we could do something today,” Eliot said, taking a second waffle. He’d go light on dinner tonight.

“We do stuff every day.”

“I thought, go to a park, get some fresh air.”

“What park?” Alec asked suspiciously.

“You can go online and find one. Me ‘n Parker will do the dishes and entertain the rug rat, then I’ll make lunch to take with us.”

“We could just get sandwiches somewhere,” Alec suggested.

“Or go to the food trucks!” Parker bounced.

“No, look. We don’t want to take him -“ Owen was finishing his milk, - “anyplace someone might know us.”

“They might remember,” Parker nodded.

“So a park outside our usual stomping grounds. I’m on it.” Alec stood and then walked around the table. He kissed Parker, then Eliot, and then Owen got a kiss on the top of his curly head.

“Don’t get carried away,” Eliot warned, knowing he was likely to get caught up comparing every park in the city, reading reviews and recommendations. Possibly creating spreadsheets. “Just a nice park.

“Nice,” Parker agreed. “With a jungle gym.”

“One jungle gym, coming right up.” Alec got to his bank of computers that lived behind the sofas and woke up a couple of screens. He was engrossed in minutes, fingers flying over the keyboards.

“We better get to work,” Eliot got Owen up and out, then settled him with his toys.

“I need to shower first. I caught a couple ziplines on the way home.” Parker stood and gave him a quick kiss. She had ziplines scattered around the city, off roofs and out windows, most too high for people to really see. If anyone had noticed, they hadn’t said anything. To Parker the city was one big playground, filled with things to climb and jump off of.

“And I’m stuck with clean up,” Eliot muttered. He checked on Owen – stacking blocks on cars – and gathered the dishes. He really didn’t mind, he did a better job anyhow.

They were ready to go a couple hours later. Owen had a little nap while Eliot cleaned and assembled lunch. Back in the van, he seemed confused by the booster seat and held tightly to Eliot, who encouraged him.

“I’ll be right here,” he said, pointing to the second captain’s chair. This van had four seats in front and two chairs in the back with the tech gear. Hardison had pared down over the years until he had the essentials he needed without a lot of wasted space.

“Just need to get you buckled up.”

After a couple of minutes Owen relented and sat back in the seat. Eliot buckled him in, then got to his seat and buckled himself, setting a good example. He quietly growled at Parker until she did the same.

“It chokes me,” she complained, but she leapt from skyscrapers in nylon rigs that consisted of a hundred straps and Eliot wasn’t going to let her off the hook.

It was a nice drive. Owen clutched Truck in one hand and his blue sippy cup of diluted apple juice in the other – Eliot didn’t want him getting too much sugar. He looked out the window, but kept turning to check on Eliot, to make sure he was still there. He clutched Truck tightly; Eliot hoped the toy was well made and would last a long time. Maybe they should go back to Walmart and buy some replacements, just in case.

“This is pretty,” Parker sounded surprised when Alec turned off the road and into a long, winding drive. Eliot could see that it circled the edge of the park, which was large. There were several play structures, probably for different age groups, and around them a wide expanse of manicured lawn scattered with picnic tables. Alec drove halfway around, pulling into a parking space close to the smallest playscape. The size and shape indicated that it was for smaller children – there were several already playing on it.

They got out, Eliot holding Owen and Alec carrying their big, fancy picnic basket. He’d bought it the year before, in hopes of romance, and they had used it a few times. Usually for midnight picnics on the Brewpub roof, one of Parker’s favorite places.  
Today it was filled[ with sandwiches; cheese-and-fruit, home roasted turkey, as well as plain PB&J for Owen, in case he wasn’t feeling adventurous. Macaroni salad, potato salad, and Eliot had even allowed potato chips. Fresh pears and peaches. Three kinds of cookies, he kept them well stocked at home, with juice and sodas and bottles of water that were mostly for Eliot.

They chose a picnic table under a large oak tree, close to the play area. It was too soon to eat, so they just sat talking while Owen looked around, secure in Eliot’s lap.

“So we’re going to contact the Mortons in a week, after Alec has done all the paperwork,” Eliot said. He shifted. He was still a little stiff, a little sore from the fighting. Taking out ten guys was tough. Alec held out his arms.

“I’ll take him.”

Owen frowned a little, but went to him when Eliot handed him over. He was small, and a bit underweight, but Eliot thought he was going to be big.

When he started reaching back for Eliot, Parker opened the basket and pulled out a cookie; double chocolate, her favorite. When she offered it to Owen he hesitated, still looking at Eliot.

“It’s okay, you can have it.” Eliot held back a sigh and hoped the big cookie wouldn’t spoil his appetite for lunch. And he hated having his face cleaned, which was inevitable after the chocolate.

“If the backgrounds and financials come back clean,” Alec said firmly as Owen began to rain crumbs on him. His shirt was a black one, with a print that said ‘All your bases are belong to us’. Eliot had no clue what it meant.

“Don’t bullshit me, Hardison, I know you’ve already started looking. It didn’t take you three hours to find a park.”

“Okay, yes, fine. I started – but that doesn’t mean I’m done!”

“What did you find?” Parker asked, getting another cookie for herself. Eliot was glad she wasn’t off scaling the towers on the bigger structures. It seemed that Parker-the-Mastermind was here right now, not Parker-the-daredevil.

Hardison scowled. Owen watched him, a gob of cookie in his mouth.

“They’ve done well,” he said at last. “The Mortons. Luka is a sophomore in high school. Dana took a year off and homeschooled him before putting him in public school, so he’s a year behind.”

“I’m sure he needed it,” Eliot said, pleased with that news.

“I’m glad I stopped going to school,” Parker grinned around her cookie. She looked a bit like Owen when she did that.

“Since we took care of that second mortgage they took out to pay Irina –“

“And gave them a nice nest egg –“ Eliot added.

“Joe started his own accounting firm and he’s done very well. Dana is able to work part time as a school nurse and they bought a bigger house in a better school district.”

“How well?” Eliot asked. “Suspiciously well?”

Alec sigh.

“Nothing that can’t be explained by hard work and a little bit of luck.”

“I don’t believe in luck,” Parker said, finishing her cookie.

“But I’m going to dig deeper, man,” Alec held up a hand to Eliot. “Don’t count those chickens yet.”

“How is Luka doing in school?” Now Owen was just smearing cookie on his face, maybe trying to clean himself up. Eliot reached for the wet wipes he’d put in the basket.

“Pretty good. As and Bs. He’s a theater geek, which is kind of funny.”

“Why’s that funny?” Parker asked. Eliot was trying to clean Owen up but the kid was shaking his head to prevent it.

Parker began taking plates and utensils and food out of the basket. Apparently she was hungry now.

“Here, you do it. Wash your face.” Eliot handed a clean wipe to Owen and mimed cleaning his own face. Owen watched him closely and then did it himself, not too badly.

“Because of the movie thing we did when we rescued him,” Alec took the dirty wipe and looked for a place to put it. There was a garbage can just a few feet away – he started to get up, but Owen said “No!” very clearly and reached back for Eliot again. Alec handed him over, gathered all the dirty wipes and threw them away, then began helping Parker set out the picnic.

It was a pretty day. Still a bit cool, but the sun was shining. They had a quiet meal, but it was a comfortable quiet. Eliot urged Owen to try a few new things and was mostly met with head shaking and no more words. That was okay. The kid did like the cream cheese-and-apricot jam sandwiches, with a homemade apricot spread Eliot bought at the Farmer’s Market. It was about half as sweet as the commercial kind. Eliot was pretty fond of it.

When they were done he stood, carrying Owen. Alec hung back, but Eliot saw that he had his phone out for pictures. Parker got up, went around and gave Alec a kiss, then coming to give Eliot one.

“I’m gonna go play.”

“Try not to give anyone a heart attack.”

“Including me,” Alec added.

Eliot took Owen to the nearest low plastic slide. He skipped the stairs and hefted him up to the top and kept a hand on him as he slid down, smiling.

“That’s my boy,” Eliot praised. He repeated the action, and again, more times until his shoulders hurt a little but Owen was giggling loudly. Alec recorded for a while and then turned to cleaning up the remains of the picnic, leaving out the drinks and cookies.

Eliot put Owen on the ground and tried to lead him to the steps so he could go and play on his own, but the boy clung to his leg stubbornly. Giving it up as a bad idea, Eliot walked them to a corner of the curbed area and sat down, maneuvering Owen to sit facing him.

“Want to play with this?” he asked, taking a handful of the rubber mulch. It seemed pretty clean and new. “Like this.” He opened his hand and let the mulch rain down. Owen just watched him. “You can make a tower,” Eliot said. He scooped up more mulch and began to make a pile. Owen quickly joined in. then Eliot sprinkled a bit of the rubber on Owen’s blond curls and the boy looked at him in surprise.

“What did I do?” Eliot laughed. “Do you see what I did there?”

“I saw!” Alec called from the table. “Pay him back, Owen!”

Looking nervously at from Eliot to Alec and back again, Owen hesitated. Then he grabbed a big handful of mulch and threw it at Eliot.

“Hey!” Eliot took a little bit and threw it back. Soon they were exchanging handfuls of rubber ammunition and Alec was laughing with them.

Eliot noticed that a couple of kids were watching, and a couple of nearby moms, and figured he was setting a pretty bad example. He caught Owen up and stood, brushing at Owen’s hair, and felt Alec come up and start running his fingers through Eliot’s hair, removing stray pieces.

“Thanks, babe,” he said, then gave his head a good shake. Owen copied him. “Is Parker back yet?”

“No, and I don’t see her anywhere.”

“That could mean anything.”

“Let’s walk a bit, see if we spot her.”

“Sounds good.”

Now relatively free of mulch, they headed for the sidewalk that ran around the inside of the park. As they were walking, enjoying the good weather, Eliot became aware that there was mulch inside his shirt.

“Take him a minute.” He handed Owen to Alec, the boy didn’t protest, he was getting tired.

“He’s about ready for a nap,” Alec said as Owen snuggled into him.

“He’ll sleep great in the car,” Eliot agreed. He was distracted by taking off his red Henley, which left him in a black tank. He could feel Alec watching him. As he shook out the shirt, he noticed two women approaching them from behind.

“Better?” Alec asked. He was smiling; a soft, fond thing.

“Yeah.” Eliot didn’t put the shirt back on, he just tied it around his waist. He knew how much Alec liked him in a tank top. “How’s my hair?” he asked, teasing his partner. Alec loved playing with his hair, grabbing it and tugging it…

“It’s good.” Alec tipped his head as he answered, grinning now. Eliot grinned back. 

“Excuse me,” a shrill female voice said from behind them. “You’re blocking the way.”

“Sorry,” Eliot said in a tone that made it clear he was definitely not sorry. “Got distracted.” He’d know they were there, always alert, but he hadn’t expected the tone of snide disapproval in her voice. He and Alec hadn’t encountered much homophobia, but it seemed that today was their lucky day.

Alec saw Eliot’s instant tension. He moved over, off the path, taking Eliot’s hand. Owen snuffled a bit and woke up, immediately reaching for Eliot.

“I gotcha, big guy.” Eliot took him as the women walked by. He and Alec exchanged a bored glance, then Eliot leaned up for a kiss.

“I’m not ashamed,” he whispered. Alec smiled and kissed him again while Owen tucked his head onto Eliot’s shoulder.

“You’re kissing without me.” Parker was just suddenly there, as if she appeared out of thin air.

“Well get in here, mama.”

They spent ten minutes just trading kisses. The rude woman and her friend stopped to turn around and stare. Parker waved at them. Then Owen began to squirm and they had to get to the bathrooms before piling back in the van. A little sweaty, a little dirty, full of good food and Owen slept all the way home.

Eliot let the subject rest for another week. They made more of an effort to get Owen outside into the fresh air, going to different parks and walking paths around the city almost every day. Their apartment was big, but Owen became more active and verbal every day. They wouldn’t be able to keep him cooped up much longer. He’d tried the front door a couple times, but it was too heavy for him, thankfully, the steel security door that was their first, most basic line of defense.

At the end of the week Eliot let Alec and Parker put Owen to bed while he puttered in the kitchen, making simple spaghetti sauce to put in the freezer, a quick squash casserole that he knew Alec would eat and Parker might try. They could have that the next day, maybe with some grilled chicken. More of a healthy meal than his partners usually liked, but they would try to set a good example for Owen. Eliot had been using that excuse to get them to eat better since they got the little boy.

Leaving the spaghetti sauce to cool and putting the properly stored casserole into the big fridge, Eliot waited until they came into the living room. Alec headed for his computers and Parker was going for the best egress window when he held up a hand and said “Hey, guys.”

Alec paused, then looked at him guiltily. Parker turned right around and came to him.

“What’s up?” she asked, snuggling up to him for a minute, then sticking a finger in the sauce to taste it. “Ooh, more garlic.”

She had learned a lot about food. He would add more garlic for her even if he thought the sauce didn’t need it. But first –

“We need to talk about it,” he said, watching Alec slowly shake his head.

“Can’t we wait another week?” Alec asked, not quite begging.

“It’s been almost too long,” Eliot answered.

“You mean finding Owen a home,” Parker clued in. She pulled out the spice racks and chose the powdered garlic Eliot wouldn’t be caught dead using. Alec got it to sprinkle on his pizza. She began shaking it into the sauce, and Eliot winced, but didn’t stop her. It would still be palatable.

“Yeah,” Eliot said. “We need to make a decision and get started on it.”

“You know what I think,” Alec said stubbornly.

“Have you found out anything else about the Mortons?”

“Only good things.” Alec seemed to deflate. “But I want him where I can see him, E.”

“That’s not what’s best for him. Alec, we have to do what’s best for him.”

“Maybe they would send us pictures,” Parker said brightly, tasting the sauce again, but using a spoon this time.

“Or even video,” Eliot said. “Look, we don’t even know if they want another child. They lucked out with Luka.”

“He’s a pretty good kid,” Alec said with a sigh. “Literally a Boy Scout. Does theater, plays baseball.”

“I’ll have to forgive him that last one,” Eliot smiled, thinking of his foray into the sport. He wondered sometimes what people thought, if they found a mention of his aliases online. In some cases there were pictures. The same guy doing all these different things; country singer, baseball player, hockey player. He hoped no one ever made the connection and made a big deal of it.

Of course Alec killed the pictures and stories wherever he found them, to protect Eliot. To protect them. He’d created a little internet-scrubbing Roomba that found their histories and got rid of them.

“So we’ll do this,” Eliot walked towards Alec, Parker following, abandoning the sauce she was killing. “I’ll contact the Mortons and feel them out. If they’re interested –“

“I think they will be,” Alec seemed depressed by this.

“Then I think that will be our decision. If they aren’t -”

“Then he can go to Nana?”

Personally Eliot thought Nana was a last resort, but he had to give in at some point.

“Then he can go to Nana. We’ll hire her some help for the house, so she won’t have to worry about cleaning and such. She’ll be able to give him all her attention.” That would make it easier on her.

“I don’t know if she’ll take help.”

“You’ll convince her.” Eliot didn’t say it, but that was his condition for Nana taking Owen. It was the best compromise he could think of.

“Then why not just do that?”

Eliot was the one who sighed now.

“Alec,” Parker spoke up.

“You know it’s best for him,” Eliot said quietly as they reached him. They both drew him into a hug, holding him tightly as Eliot continued to speak, almost in a whisper. “Two parents, a brother to look after him –“ Eliot thought briefly of his own brother, whom he hadn’t seen in so many years. “- a nice middle-class life. Safe.”

“We want him to be safe,” Parker added.

“You’re right,” Alec said, and there were tears in his voice. “I know you’re right.”

“Let’s go to bed,” Parker said, steering them all towards the bedroom even if it was a couple hours too early.

They curled up in their big bed together, Owen sleeping peacefully on the baby monitor, and held Alec while he cried just a little. Then they began trying to make it up to him with their hands and their bodies and their love.

Now that they had decided where Owen should go – if the Mortons agreed – they had to decide how to do it.

“We’re being watched,” Eliot said, ever paranoid.

“No we aren’t,” Alec argued back. “There is no electronic surveillance in the world that we wouldn’t have detected and countered. You do a bug sweep every week. Here and the pub. And a person would be made real damn quick."

“If there were people out there I would have seen them,” Parker said seriously. She checked the neighboring buildings regularly.

“We should assume we’re being watched and act accordingly.”

“Eliot, babe,” Alec said. “There’s reasonable precautions and then there’s rampant paranoia.”

“You know which side I fall on.” Eliot shifted restlessly. The topic made him antsy. They had been close to capture a couple of times, fat yanked from the fire by his fists or Alec’s computer wizardry, but they couldn’t risk it. Not here, in their home. Having a home base was dangerous all on its own.

“We don’t want to give him to the Mortons only to have law enforcement descend on them.”

Parker slipped from her perch on the back of the sofa to spread herself over both men’s laps.

“Eliot’s right. We can’t take chances with our miniature person.”

“He’s a child, Parker,” Eliot growled half heartedly.

“So we need a plan to get the miniature person where he needs to go.” 

Alec began rubbing Parker’s bare feet. Eliot made a disgruntled noise but nodded.

“First step is to contact them and see if they’re interested.” He glanced at Alec, who looked pensive. Though he had finally agreed the Mortons were a better choice than his Nana, he was still reluctant. “First thing is a job for you, Parker. Here’s what we’ll do.”

Though Parker was their mastermind, the others weren’t stupid and this was Eliot’s turn to plan, because he had more knowledge about these things.

There was a knock at the front door. Dana Morton looked up with surprise. Joe was already at the office and Luka had just left for school, driving his ultimately uncool white five-year-old Honda Civic. He claimed to hate it, but most of his friends didn’t even have cars. Dana knew they spoiled him, but he was a great kid that deserved it.

She didn’t need to leave for another half hour. There weren’t any dishes; Joe took his coffee in a travel mug and she’d already put Luka’s cereal bowl in the dishwasher. So she was enjoying a peaceful moment with a cup of tea.

She went to open the door, startled to see a small cardboard box. There didn’t seem to be any markings on it. Her mind flashed to mail bombs and crazy people, but there hadn’t been anything in the news, and the box was only about eight inches square. Hesitantly, she picked it up.

There was writing on the bottom. It said “Open Me” in red marker. The handwriting was bold and spiky, but pretty. Dana felt more unsure now. Was this the beginning of something terrible?

She thought of Luka.

She stepped into the house, locking the door. Setting the box carefully on the hall table, next to the smooth wooden bowl they used for keys and change.

After staring at it for a few minutes, she pulled out her phone and called Joe.

“Morton Accounting,” the receptionist answered.

“It’s Dana.”

She was put right through. Joe answered sounding worried; she seldom called him at work. She told him about the box.

“Hold on, honey. I’ll be right home,” he told her.

“It may be nothing.”

“Whatever it is, I need to be there with you.”

“Okay. Thank you. I love you.”

“Love you too. I’ll be there in fifteen.”

She waited nervously, worried in her mind. The worst was that someone had discovered Luka’s adoption was fake, and that someone was going to report them. Or blackmail.

When Joe walked in the door they hugged long and hard. Then they stood together and stared at the box.

“The adoption was supposed to be iron-clad,” Joe said uncertainly.

“Maybe it’s the same people, the Leverage people,” she responded, a little more hopeful now that he was here. “It seems like something they would do.”

“But why? Just to check up on us? it’s been years.”

After a couple more minutes Dana sighed. “I don’t think it’s dangerous.”

“We should open it.”

Using a steak knife from the kitchen drawer, Joe carefully slit the tape on the box and folded back the flaps without actually touching it.

“Huh.”

“That’s weird,” Dana said.

Inside the box was a plain black flip phone, the kind no one used anymore.

“It doesn’t look like a bomb.”

“It looks like an old phone.” 

They were still standing in the hall. Joe had locked the door again. “Should we pick it up?” 

Dana reached cautiously into the box, and nothing happened, and then the phone was in her hand.

“Oh look, there’s a note,” she said, not quite relieved. This could still be a threat or a kidnapping [or something even worse.

Joe lifted the note, just as carefully, and unfolded it. Dana could see that the handwriting didn’t match what was on the box. This was rounder, more masculine.

Joe held it up and they read it together.

Mortons – LTNS  
We’ve got a proposition  
For you. Call us on  
this phone, it can’t be  
traced.  
Leverage

“A proposition? What does that mean?”

“Maybe they want money after all?” Joe suggested. “I always wondered what they meant by ‘alternative revenue stream’.”

“They weren’t like that. They found Luka for us when no one would help. They even got back the money Irina took from us.”

“Then let’s call them. See what they have to say. It can’t be worse than not knowing.”

“Okay.” Dana took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”

They clasped hands, and went into the family room to sit on the big red sofa. The room was mostly beige and cream, only the sofa and flowered armchairs adding color. 

Joe was still holding the phone. He offered it to Dana.

“Should I call or do you want to?”

Their marriage was full of moments like this. Joe handled the day-to-day things and Dana generally made the big decisions. Like going to Leverage in the first place. Joe had been ready to lie back and lick his wounds; at that point he could have done little else – but Dana had been determined. Through a friend of a friend of somebody, she’d heard about this group, and then found them on the internet. They had a small, discreet website.

And they had gotten Luka because of it.

“Let me do it. I talked to them more than you did.” Nate Ford had come across as smart but a little cold, for all that he was kind. She wondered if he was the same now.

They were all waiting, though they didn’t admit it. Alec was busy on two computers, half of the desktops he had in a semi-circle in his part of the big main living area. So it was okay, if anything had really been wrong he would have been using all four, and a couple laptops to boot. Parker was on the rug with Owen, indulging their shared passion for building and knocking down towers of blocks. Eliot relaxed on the sofa; glasses on and a book in his lap that he wasn’t really reading. He was watching the others, feeling calm and happy in a way that used to be painfully rare. Nowadays it was almost his default setting.

The second phone, a much fancier one that Alec had modified extensively, was sitting on the carved oak coffee table.

It rang. They all paused, and exchanged glances. Owen took the opportunity to throw a green block at Eliot.

“No throwing,” Parker said mildly, intercepting the next missile. The phone continued to ring.

“Well, answer it,” she huffed. Eliot sat up straight and did so.

“Hello?”

“Yes, um. Hi. I’m looking for Nate Ford?”

“Dana Morton?” Eliot asked, just to be sure they had the right person.

“Yes, this is Dana Morton. Is Mr. Ford there?”

She sounded like she was surprised Nate hadn’t answered the phone. Eliot used his warmest, most trustworthy voice, without sounding fake. He’d learned a lot from Sophie.

“This is Eliot Spencer, of Leverage International. Mr. Ford has retired. I was with the team during the situation in Serbia.”

“Retired? Then why are you contacting us? If you want money we’ll give you whatever you want. We’ll protect Luka.”

If it came down to it and anyone found out the details of the adoption, Eliot knew – and the Mortons knew – they didn’t have a legal leg to stand on.

“It’s nothing like that,” Eliot was quick to assure her. “Do you mind if I put you on speaker? The rest of my team is here. They were all in Serbia.”

“Okay,” she said doubtfully. He hoped she would warm up quickly. His instincts told him this couple would welcome another child, they had wanted Luka so much. But it had been six years and they had been at a different place in their lives.

He pushed the speaker icon and put the phone on the coffee table. Parker scooted over and Alec joined her on the rug. Owen switched from blocks to his Little People airplane, awkwardly placing play figures inside of it.

“You’re on speaker now,” Eliot said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped between them. Parker and Alec were holding hands under the coffee table.

“Okay,” she repeated they heard her take a deep breath, and a man’s voice in the background.

“Why don’t you put us on speaker too. Joe needs to hear this.” Eliot assumed it was Joe with her. If it was a different man that changed things and they wouldn’t be offering Owen to them. But Alec had found no signs of marital strife; no money or job problems, no suspicious credit card activity or ATM withdrawals. He had crawled through the Mortons’ lives. Eliot knew he’d been more than half hoping to find something to disqualify them, but they were almost completely clean. They ate out too much, in Eliot’s opinion, and spoiled Luka a bit, but they were there for every school even he was involved in, every performance and ball game.

The sound coming from the phone changed, becoming somehow louder yet hollow. Eliot spoke up again.

“Joe Morton?”

“This is Joseph Morton,’ he sounded unsure but firm.

“Okay. With me I’ve got Parker and Hardison. You saw us all briefly when Nate turned Luka over to you but we were never introduced.

“You’re the one with the long hair, right?” Dana asked. Eliot gave a little chuckle. His hair was a good distraction from his face.

“I am. It’s longer now. How did you know that?”

“You just sound like it.”

“Are you checking up on Luka?” Joe asked, still sounding unfriendly. It was undeserved, Eliot thought, considering. But dealing with criminals made some people nervous, even if those criminals had helped them out before. “He’s a great kid,” Joe continued. “Doing great.”

“We know,” Alec spoke up. “We did some research, y’all are doing a good job.”

“Research?” Joe said angrily. Eliot shot Alec a look. They’d all agreed he would handle the conversation.

“We had to be sure we aren’t making a mistake,” he tried to soothe Joe, but the man was angry.

“What gives you the right to dig into our lives?”

“We did it the first time, too,” Parker piped up. “Did you think we didn’t?”

“The first time? With Luka?” Dana gasped. “You researched us?”

“Look,” Eliot said, glaring at his partners. Owen took that moment to turn the toy airplane upside down and shake all the helpless toy people out. “You may not have been aware of it at the time, but Nate had us do a very thorough background check on you. We weren’t going to hand a kid over to just anybody.”

There was a long pause and then Joe spoke.

“I guess that makes sense.”

“You wanted what was best for Luka as much as we did,” Eliot added.

“Of course,” Dana said, sounding less upset.

“But if you know he’s doing well,” Joe sounded unwilling to let go of his anger, “Then why are you contacting us now?”

“It’s a bit of a story,” Eliot said. “And not entirely legal, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. You know the kind of things we do.”

“Only the one thing,” Joe was still angry. Eliot wondered how fast he would get over it, or if he would at all.

“If there’s a story,” Dana said, “Can we hear it?”

“Yeah,” Eliot sighed a little. This was it. The first step to losing Owen. Losing him to a good life, but still. “It starts with a girl named Beverly. She’s a street kid, she heard about us the way most people do…”

He went on to tell them how they wound up with Owen, glossing over the details of the rescue and what they had rescued him from, just referring to the kidnappers as bad guys. By the time he was finished he could hear Dana holding her breath, and Owen had crawled into Alec’s lap and fallen asleep. Parker still wasn’t comfortable being that physical with him and Owen seemed to know it. Eliot hoped that was the problem and Own didn’t have an aversion to women.

“So you have a little boy with no family?”

Eliot was surprised to hear Joe and not Dana. He wished he could see them right now.

“We haven’t found any records anywhere,” Alec spoke up, not too loudly.

“So why are you calling us?” Joe asked, and there was hope in his voice. Eliot was pleased to hear it.

“We don’t want to put him into the system, where he might not be adopted and we wouldn’t have a say in where he went.”

“Are you asking us –“ Dana paused and gulped. “Are you asking us if we want him?”

Eliot looked at his partners. Their gazes held. Alec dropped a hand to Owen’s head.

“Yeah,” Eliot said. “That’s what we’re asking.”

“Yes!” Dana almost shouted. “Yes, yes.”

“We would love another child,” Joe sounded ecstatic.

“Tell us everything about him.”

“Well.” Eliot breathed a deep sigh and relaxed a bit. “His name is Owen and we think he’s about 4. He doesn’t talk much, but enough so that we know he can talk. He loves Cheerios and blocks and toy cars…”

It took him longer than he expected to describe Owen to the Mortons. About halfway through Parker crawled onto the couch and lay down, curled up on her side with her head in Eliot’s lap. He ran his fingers through her silky hair as he talked. Alec kept a hand on Owen, who was sleeping deeply, unaware that his future was being decided.

“When can we meet him?” Joe asked when Eliot was out of words.

“We don’t need to meet him,” Dana said firmly. “When can we come get him?”

They seemed convinced and Eliot was glad this wasn’t a scam. He would hate to hurt these people. Good people.

“That’s where it gets a little tricky.”

“How?”

“This isn’t Serbia. We need to make this look legitimate, so no one ever questions it. We’ll start by sending you some pictures. You tell people that you’ve been trying to adopt another child for a couple of years, but you didn’t say anything because you were afraid it wouldn’t work out, but now you’ve been set up with Owen through a private agency. You should be appropriately happy about it –“

“We are,” Dana assured him.

“- and tell everyone you’ll be getting him in – “ Eliot looked at Parker, who was watching him with liquid hazel eyes, and Alec, who was looking away “- two weeks.

“I don’t know what to say,” Joe sounded bewildered. “No one offers you your dream on a plate.”

“They do if you’re the best candidate,” Eliot told him. “We could search records, find a different family for him, but frankly that presents more of a risk. We know you, you know us; it’s the best option.”

Alec grimaced but Eliot knew he agreed, even if he didn’t want to.

“So we’ll send you some pictures.” They had already taken them; Owen sleeping in the big bed with Truck. Several of him at different parks in the city. One of him crashed out in his booster seat. None of the pictures showed any other people or any details that would identify where they had taken them. “You let yourselves get excited and start showing them to friends and family and telling them the good news, just the way you would if this was a regular adoption. You get the house ready –“

“I resign from my job,” Dana added.

“Yes, you’ll need to stay home with him the way you did Luka,” Joe agreed.

“- go shopping.”

“How do we know this isn’t a scam?” Joe asked suddenly. “You could ask for money later, blackmail us.”

“Because we didn’t the first time,” Parker leaned over Eliot’s legs to talk directly to the phone. “You’ve got no reason to not trust us.”

“But you’re not Mr. Ford,” Dana said slowly. The happiness was seeping out of her voice.

“I don’t know if we can take that chance,” Joe said. “As much as we want to. We won’t put Luka in danger.”

Eliot wasn’t surprised they had doubts. He would think less of them if they didn’t. He was a little surprised by the fixation on Nate, but he could make that work to their advantage.

“Hardison,” he said, still loudly enough that the Mortons could hear him. “Where are Nate and Sophie right now?” He knew the hacker kept tabs on them, and the couple checked in regularly between visits. Nate wasn’t quite able to let go of his baby.

“Um, Tokyo,” Alec answered. “There’s a symposium on ocean health. I think Nate wanted to go and Sophie wanted to wear some new clothes.”

Eliot was sure Sophie was worried about the oceans too. The two of them would probably make a big donation.

“Okay,” Eliot said, thinking quickly. “We’ll set up a video conference with Nate and he can tell you we’re being honest with you. Will that be enough?”

“I don’t know,” Joe answered.

“Yes,” Dana said more firmly. “Joe, I talked to Mr. Ford a lot more than you did. I trust him. He gave us Luka and no one has bothered us since.”

That was because they were all in prison, but Eliot didn’t mention that.

“Dana, I’m not sure.”

“Another little boy that needs us, Joe. If Nate Ford says these people – his people – are genuine, then I’m going to believe him.”

It took a couple of minutes for Joe to respond.

“I’ll trust your judgement.”

“Good,” Eliot broke in. “We’ll set up a time for the conference, then call you. Do you still want to see pictures of Owen now?”

“Yes,” Dana sounded happy again. “Please.”

“I’ll have Hardison send them as soon as we’re off the phone.”

“Why wait? I can –“

“I want them to see them without our influence,” Eliot told him.

“Our email address is –“

“I’ve got that,” Alec half-laughed. “You’ll have them in twenty minutes.”

“Is this real?” Joe asked. “People don’t just find kids and give them away.”

Eliot picked up the phone, thumbing off the speaker. Alec was starting to rise, balancing Owen delicately. The boy actually hadn’t been up long enough for this to count as a nap, but Parker had had him tearing around the loft after breakfast, while she climbed various ropes and rigs and stayed just out of reach, until Alec made her stop and they settled on the rug to play.

“I know it’s not the norm,” Eliot told them. “But today we do.”

They weren’t able to set up an exact time for the video conference until they talked to Nate, but Eliot told the Mortons it would probably only take a couple of days. He got off the phone after answering a few more questions about Owen, these a little more serious: had he been abused? Was he allergic to anything? Afraid of dogs? Eliot knew they had a dog, a black lab named Jazz. Alec’s research was very thorough, and the Mortons had a moderate social media presence, mostly focused on Luka and Dana’s friends.

He answered that they weren’t sure if Owen had been abused, but thought maybe he had since he didn’t talk much and he’d had nightmares when he first came to them, and they didn’t know about dogs, having never encountered any at the parks.

“We can work it out,” Dana said. “Hopefully he’s not, but if he is we’ll work it out.”

Eliot had a couple more things to bring up before they got off the phone.

“I have to ask, how’s Luka going to react?” the teenager could be happy, or resentful. It was hard to share your parents when you’d been an only child. Dana paused a few minutes before answering.

“He’s always known we would have liked to have more children. But after what we went through to get him we were never brave enough to try again.” She paused once more. “I think he’ll like it. He’s a kind boy and having a little brother would be good for him.”

“Okay,“ Eliot kind of agreed with her, from what he’d read of the kid. “There’s one more thing, and it’s really a favor for us. I’d suggest you keep the name Owen, because he’s used to it, but that’s up to you guys. We would like you to keep the middle name, though. We picked it for him and it has meaning for us.”

“What’s his middle name?” Joe asked, clearly a little worried.

“Nothing weird. Just Nicholas. And we gave him a common last name with the right origins for his background.”

“The background you created for him.”

“Well, Alec did,” Eliot threw his lover a smile. “It’s solid.” Alec smiled back, still looking a little sad.

“I like Nicholas. We gave Luka Joe’s middle name, James.”

Eliot knew that but didn’t comment.

“It’s not a problem. I don’t think we’ll be changing Owen either. It goes well with Luka, in a way,” Dana said.

“Okay,” Eliot nodded at Parker and Alec. “Alec with send those pictures and we’ll be in touch in a couple of days.”

“We won’t start talking about it until we speak with Mr. Ford,” Dana said, sounded worried again.

“That’s fine. We don’t want you to do anything that feels wrong.”

“Thank you, for thinking of us,” Dana said. “It may not seem like it, but we’re very grateful.”

“You are welcome,” Eliot answered, a little bit formal. “Talk to you soon.”

He hung up after her goodbyes, and looked at the other two. His fingers were still in Parker’s hair, blond silk slipping through them.

They looked back. Parker pulled free, sitting up.

That could have gone better,” Alec commented. He shifted around, prepared to stand with Owen on his shoulder.

“Give him to me,” Eliot reached out. Alec stood and passed over the sleeping child, who snuffled and snuggled into the worn brown Henley Eliot was wearing.

“I didn’t expect them to want to talk to Nate,” he agreed with Alec.

“I should have thought of it,” Parker looked irritated with herself.

“You can’t think of everything,” Alec soother. “That’s why we work as a team.

She subsided, but Eliot knew she was going to work on it in her head for a while before she accepted it.

“I’ll send those pictures now,” Alec stretched while Eliot admired him, then went to his computers. Eliot knew no one would ever figure out where the photos came from. No matter how good someone might be, Alec was better.

“I should be the one to call Nate,” Parker said. “He's going to be mad and that won’t bother me.”

And Nate might really be beyond upset, for any number of reasons. Because they had taken the boy and not turned him over to the authorities. Maybe Nate and Sophie would think differently and want Owen for themselves. Eliot doubted that. Mostly he thought Nate would be upset because they had made themselves vulnerable. No matter how careful they were someone might notice and wonder where this weird threesome that run a brewpub had gotten a little boy.

“Sent,” Alec called out, but he didn’t get up. Eliot figured he was triple-checking the paperwork he’d put together for Owen. He had no doubt it would be perfect.

Even though he knew that, Eliot had to admit to himself that he was still worried[. So they had several contingency plans in place in case they had to disappear. That’s what Parker was especially good at; seeing all possible outcomes and planning for each one. Sometimes she said to do things and they just did them. She couldn’t always explain her reasoning, but they didn’t need her to.

“What time is it in Tokyo?” he asked her now, sitting up beside him. Her mind worked differently, but she easily remembered things like international time differences. She was amazing.

“Eleven-thirty p.m. Too late to call?”

“Nate will be up.” They all knew their original mastermind still didn’t sleep well. Probably never would.

“I’ll call him now,” Parker reached for the burner phone. “Do you want to listen in?” she looked at Eliot and then Alec.

“I think I’ll have a lie down with the little man,” Eliot indicated the child he was holding.

“Working, “ Alec called out.

“Get your snuggles while you can.” She told Eliot.

“Exactly.”

“I’ll come tell you about it when I’m done.”

“Yeah,” Eliot agreed. He stood, the softness of the sofa making it a little bit of an effort. One his way down the hall he glanced back and saw Parker slip out one of the roof access windows. They had a little nest up there, out of sight, complete with an all-weather box that held blankets and pillows and drinks and snacks, perfect for late-night thinking and stargazing, or just alone time.

Eliot took Owen to his room, formerly Nate and Sophie’s room. That’s what it would become again in just a couple weeks. The thought made him sad, gave him a feeling of melancholy. What would have happened if he’d stayed with Aimee or gone to Nashville with Kay Lynn? Would he be holding his own little boy or girl? Not genetically his – well, maybe, there were surgeries that could reverse that. He’d be good with a girl; he already knew how to braid hair. He did his and Parker’s sometimes.

Lying back on a stack of pillows, he pulled the Batman throw over Owen and settled in, still thinking. It wasn’t impossible. His partners were still young. Someday they might retire. Parker could have a baby if she wanted one, though he couldn’t imagine her pregnant. The cravings would be horrible and she would probably think of the fetus as an invading alien, even if she wanted it. But there was no shortage of kids that needed families, and with Alec’s skills it wouldn’t be hard to get one.

If they wanted that. If he wanted that. It would be years either way. Nothing to worry about now, despite his lingering mild feelings of sadness.

Owen was still sleeping deeply, edging into his regular nap time. Eliot closed his eyes and listened to him breathe, feeling the warm, trusting weight. He could admit, if only to himself that he would like to have this, someday.

He’d started cutting himself some slack over the past couple of years, so he allowed himself to drift off along with Owen, sleeping lightly.

Parker woke him a while later, with Alec in tow. Owen sat up on Eliot’s belly, rubbing his eyes but smiling. Eliot smoothed his ruffled curls.

“How did it go?”

“He was angry,” Parker said. “Then I explained to him and he calmed down. He’ll talk to them.”

“I’ve got the paperwork perfect,” Alec added. “We just need to plan the hand-off.”

“I’ve got that covered,” Eliot said, looking to Parker. She usually did the planning, but this wasn’t their normal thing, not a con at all.

Owen bounced on Eliot, making him oof.

“Better get this guy some lunch,” Eliot chuckled. “Before he eats me.”

“Eat!” Owen crowed. “Lunch!”

“Yes, it’s lunchtime,” Alec agreed, lifting him off Eliot.

“Sandwiches okay?”

“Grilled cheese?” Parker asked hopefully.

“With Brie?” Alec added.

“And fruit,” Eliot said, standing and shaking out his hair. “Got to set a good example.”

“Fruit,” Owen agreed. “Apple.”

“Apples,” Eliot grinned. Soon Owen would be making sentences and then he’d be all caught up. He’d miss seeing that. Maybe the Mortons would send video? Too often would be dangerous, but once in a while? They could ask. He knew the others would like that.

They never found out what Nate said to the Mortons. Didn’t ask, either. Some things were better not to know. Joe and Dana called four days later and enthusiastically agreed to take Owen. Since Eliot knew Nate once convinced a man to sign over an entire country, he wasn’t even surprised.

The next phone call took longer. Parker was out; Eliot had a feeling she was checking up on the warehouse kids. Three of the rescued ones had joined them, plus the ones that had already lived there returned. There were a lot of kids there now. Alec tracked their computer use and some of them were taking high school classes, one was even taking online college courses. So they’d done them some good besides giving them a place to stay. Some would talk to Parker, but Beverly wouldn’t. She probably felt betrayed that they kept Owen. That was too bad, but best for the little guy. So it was just Eliot and Alec talking to the Mortons while Owen played with cars on the sofa – cars were his favorite thing, he usually gravitated to them – while they talked on speaker phone. The Mortons assured them that Luka was on board, already buying a toddler-sized baseball glove and wiffle ball and bat for his new little brother. Eliot was certain Owen would thrive under the attention and like anything they wanted to do with him.

They agreed to send pictures and videos once in a while; not too often, but enough to let the team see how ‘their’ boy was doing.  
Once everything was set out the Mortons thanked them profusely, Dana crying a little.

Time sped by after that. They had the hand-off date, ten days away. They all spent extra time with Owen, playing games, reading to him, roughhousing. He and Parker built some impressive towers that always came down with a crash and delighted laughter. He began calling them by name, usually to get their attention, and started to mimic their speaking, repeating them. The first time he did it Eliot was so proud he could burst.

“Here, try this,” he said, sitting down with Owen for lunch, just the two of them. Hardison was engrossed in some online campaign and Parker was out checking her lines, and probably jumping off buildings. Occasionally Eliot worried about that that, that she might slip and fall, but he had to trust that she knew her abilities.

Eliot offered a bowl of Gruyere mac-and-cheese, with prosciutto, and Owen grimaced.

“Try this,” he echoed Eliot.

“It’s good,” Eliot said.

“It’s good?” Owen asked, peering at the bowl suspiciously.

“Yes, good.”

“It’s good,” Owen said more firmly now.

“That’s right,” Eliot half-laughed, he was so pleased. “Try it, it’s good.”

Owen still looked skeptical, but tried it. He ate two servings and Eliot felt a pang for the loss that was coming.

They went to parks. They watched movies, and read him more books. They colored and played cars. Eliot started a list of Owen’s favorite things: foods, toys, books and clothes. He listed out the boy’s daily schedule. It would help his adjustment, Eliot thought.

Owen began to relax around Parker, letting her pat his back and play with his curls. It gave them hope he would react positively to Dana. He and Parker traded blocks and toys while they played. Truck was always nearby. Eliot stressed in the paperwork how important the bunny was to him, to be sure the Mortons knew. He figured they were the kind of people that would understand a comfort toy.

Eliot bought a van, a conversion van, just for the trip. It was a bigger and more comfortable than Lucille, made for traveling. He picked a dark blue one on the lot and then got financing through a dummy corp. Hardison set up. They’d probably keep it afterward, it was really nice and they did take road trips not related to jobs. All their extra vehicles were stored in an apparently abandoned storage facility owned by an apparently bankrupt company. 

They would drive to the Morton’s and give them Owen and Truck and a handful of other favorite things, and then donate everything else to several different places. 

Delivering him to their house was a risk, but they had decided that meeting in a remote location or setting up a fake office might be more so. This way the neighbors would see it; official-looking people bringing Owen to the Morton’s. 

Hopefully he would take the move well. He’d stopped having nightmares, they didn’t want them to start again. But the Mortons were prepared. Dana had a therapist and pediatrician lined up for him. They had no way of knowing if he’d had any vaccinations, so that’s what she would tell the doctor and they would decide what to do.

They started driving at midnight on a Sunday morning, leaving Amy in charge. As always, she didn’t ask anything, but Eliot suspected she knew what they were up to. They’d kept Owen out of the brewpub, not wanting him connected to them any more than he had to be, but she had seen them coming and going, heard Beverly’s story and helped with the warehouse kids. 

It was dark when they loaded up. Alec came down carrying a bag of toys while Eliot stashed a cooler full of food. There was another one that held snacks and drinks. The van was spacious enough there was plenty of room for them on the back seat, easily within reach.

“It’s the witching hour,” Alec said softly, sounding like he was only half joking. 

“I think we’re safe,” Eliot told him. They were both careful to not raise their voices. Owen was upstairs, still asleep. Parker was watching over him. Eliot knew she was going to take this hard. She had become more attached to the little boy than he’d expected. He’d known she had a big heart, and he was sorry for her, and Alec, that they were losing this child. He knew he’d be able to handle it, but he worried about them.

“Only one more bag,” Alec said, putting the one he was carrying into the cargo area at the back of the van. “I wish we were sending more stuff with him.”

They knew Dana was enjoying shopping for him. She’d sent them dozens of pictures. They knew his new bedroom was painted green with one blue wall, and the theme was cars and trucks. He had a red racecar bed, which Eliot thought was cool. She had bought Batman and Iron Man and Superman bedding and jammies, lots of them. Lots of toys. Eliot had no doubt that he would be loved and well looked after.

“I’ll get it,” he told Alec. “You should go sit with Parker.”

“Yeah, okay.”

The two of them walked up the outside stairs as quietly as they could, which was almost silent for Eliot and not so much for Alec. 

Eliot paused at the door and turned, reaching for his lover. Alec looked startled, but came into his arms for a hug. Eliot hung on, maybe a little too long. He just needed the comfort right that minute. He was beginning to realize what they were doing.

“We can’t keep him,” he whispered, his mind searching for possibilities. Alec’s long arms tightened around him.

“No babe,” he sighed into Eliot’s hair. “We can’t.”

After another few seconds Eliot pulled away, feeling a bit embarrassed. He shouldn’t be getting emotional about this. “I’ll get the bag,” he said.

“We’ll wait for you,” Alec said softly. “You should be the one to carry him out. You’re his favorite person.”

Eliot wanted to argue that, but he felt tired. It didn’t matter, Owen was going to find a new favorite person in his new home. Maybe it would be Luka. That would be nice.

Alec went down the hall to the bedroom and Eliot went for the big grey bag. This one had books and movies. The van had a video system, they could watch things during the drive. Hopefully Owen wouldn’t get too bored or cranky. It would normally be a fifteen hour drive, but they would be making a lot of stops; bathroom breaks, to give Owen a chance to burn off energy, for gas, so it would take longer. They hoped to be at the Mortons’ by four or five in the afternoon. That seemed like a good time. Just after Owen’s afternoon nap, when he would be awake and cheerful.

Eliot had provided all the food so they wouldn’t have to buy anything. It wasn’t all healthy stuff, there were cookies and cake too. Sandwiches and salads and fruit and snacks. Baggies of Cheerios. 

The bag of books was heavy. They’d gone a little overboard on Amazon, it was too easy. There was a whole bag of new clothes too, even though they knew Dana had bought some too. Eliot carried it down the stairs, going a little more slowly than before. He knew he was trying to stretch out the time until they left, but he also knew it was…foolish. 

The van was loaded. He shut it up and headed back upstairs. 

Owen was sleeping in a sprawl on his side, his grip on Truck loosened. Parker sat beside him, running her fingers through his curls. She had her blank face on, the one that meant she was trying very hard not to feel anything. Alec went to her and took her free hand, tugging gently.

“Just a minute,” she said softly. For the first time she leaned over and kissed Owen’s curls. Then she allowed Alec to pull her up into his arms. But she could only stand the closeness for a few seconds; she pulled away from him and stepped toward the open bedroom door.

“Go ahead,” Eliot told Alec roughly. He shook his head and also took a step back.

“I’ll say my goodbyes later.”

“Okay,” Eliot said, moving closer to the bed. “Okay.” It sounded like he was talking to himself. “Where’s his Batman blanket?”

“It’s in the living room, I’ll get it.” Parker said. 

They waited for her. “Should have planned this better,” Eliot growled.

“We’ve done everything we can,” Alec told him. “It’s just a blanket.”

“I…” Eliot couldn’t finish.

“I know.” Alec stepped up to hug him again. Eliot closed his eyes and hung on. When Parker came back in she joined the hug, both men moving to let her in.

“Okay,” Eliot said again. He stepped away, surreptitiously wiping his eyes. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

He laid the blanket gently over the sleeping child and bundled him up, lifting him carefully. Owen snuffled and cuddled into his shoulder, subsiding back into deep sleep. He was wearing red and yellow Iron Man pjs.

It didn’t take long for them to get him loaded up. he woke partially and whined when Eliot put him in his car seat. Eliot crouched on the floor and rocked the seat until he dozed back off. “Let’s go,” he told Hardison, who was taking the first shift driving. He and Eliot would trade off. Parker had a bag of old locks to play with as well as cartoon videos she could watch with Owen. If she got too bored Eliot would read to her. It was one of the few things that really calmed her down. She had a fondness for Kipling, with his imaginative descriptions and outlandish stories, like ‘How the Elephant Got His Trunk.’ Eliot’s childhood favorite, was ‘Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.’

For now, it looked like she was going to sleep. It had been a long, emotional day. Eliot smiled to himself, pulling out his copy of ‘Just so Stories’. He would read for an hour or so and then catch a nap before it was his turn to drive. Up front Alec had the music on low, that dance stuff he liked. Eliot grimaced, and then opened the book.

“O, Best Beloved,” he started, with a warmth in his heart.

Some hours later he felt the van slow to a stop. There were lights outside the window, but they were tinted so the lights weren’t too bright. He leaned over, checked on Owen, who was still sleeping. It was five am, according to his internal clock. Parker was snoozing, curled up in her seat in a ball. At home she would spread out a bit and cuddle a bit, but anywhere except their bed and elevator shafts she slept like that.

“Bathroom,” Alec turned around and leaned back between the seats. “You?”

“I’m with ya.” Eliot reached out, touched Parker on the shoulder. She started awake abruptly, staring at him. “I gotcha,” he told her. “We’re taking a break. Want to stay here with Owen, then you can go?”

She just nodded her head, and they exchanged seats so she was sitting across from Owen instead of in front of him.  
The two of them went in, the bright lights inside the gas station convenience store making Alec squint. Eliot was ready for it. Not that there was anything threatening in the store; a group of Hispanic laborers getting coffee and breakfast burritos, two scantily-dressed girls that looked like they were finishing up a night, and a single women in a power suit, with perfectly coiffed dark hair. He did a quick mental check and matched all of them to a car in the parking lot.

Alec got an orange soda – they had some in the van, but he got one anyhow – and Eliot paid for the gas. He pumped it too, while Alec dug in a cooler for a handful of salmon sandwiches and a couple bottles of water. 

Parker waved off a sandwich but accepted a bottle of water. Owen would probably be up in an hour, maybe two if the van lulled him enough.  
Van fueled, Eliot climbed into the driver’s seat. Alec passed over a couple sandwiches and a water. Eliot fussed a minute getting things organized, which wasn’t usually the way he did things, but he was a little out of sorts. He could admit it.

“Ready?” he asked quietly, looking back. Parker was turning on an IPad and slipping on headphones, Alec was leaning back and closing his eyes, one of Owen’s blankets, the Iron Man one, spread over his legs.

Eliot turned the van on, put it in gear, and pulled back onto the road. 

Traffic was bad as they hit the early morning rush hour. About a half hour into it, Owen woke, crying when he found himself not in his bed. Alec and Parker quickly switched places and Alec pulled out cheerios and a carton of chocolate milk, filling a sippy cup. The little boy calmed down quickly when presented with his favorite foods. When he started eating, Alec fiddled with the control, popped in a DVD and started up the Animaniacs, with both Parker and Owen loved.

They had to stop again thirty minute later to get Owen to the bathroom. This gas station was bigger and far busier. Eliot carried him in and made sure he went, then in the van he got him changed into an outfit Alec picked out. This one was red corduroy pants and a red-and-black striped rugby shirt, with Iron Man socks and underpants as well as his hiking boots. Eliot was beginning to wonder about Alec’s love of Iron Man. He seemed a little too attached to the character for a grown man. And he really liked clothes. But that was Alec and Eliot wasn’t going to try to change him. They would probably never get a chance to dress a little boy again.

Back in the van and Owen objected to getting back in his seat. Eliot walked him back and forth while he squirmed and fussed.

“Hey, man,” Eliot soothed. “We’ll find a playground soon, and let you run around. “But you gotta get in your seat now. Just for a while longer.”

“No!” Owen struggled with more determination. Alec opened the side door and reached for him. They didn’t want to draw any attention, and the parking lot was busy. “I don’t want to!”

It was a longer sentence for him, and that was good, but they still had to get him into the van, and Eliot wasn’t about to let him ride outside that seat. There were too many bad drivers on the road.

He handed him over to Alec, which made Owen yell “No, no!” and climbed in after him, sliding the door shut. Parker was still in the passenger’s seat, turned around the watch them.

“How about a movie?” Alec was asking. “You can pick a movie and any snack you want.”

Eliot frowned, not wanting to flat out bribe him, but needs must.

“Snack?” Owen asked, looking thoughtful and calming down. “Cookies?”

“One,” Eliot said, at the same time Alec said “Three cookies.”

“Two,” Parker suggested. They all looked at Owen. 

“Big ones?”

“Eliot’s cookies are always big,” Parker half-smiled.

“Chocolate,” Owen said firmly. Eliot had to grin. The kid knew what he liked.

Alec had to get the cookies out of the cooler before Owen would get into his seat. He let Eliot buckle him in, his eyes on the cookies the whole time.  
When the cookies were handed over, Eliot dreading cleaning him up after – but hey, that would be Alec’s problem, Eliot would be driving – Parker held up two of his favorite movies. ‘The Little Mermaid’ and “The Fox and the Hound’. Eliot could tolerate both of them.

Predictably Owen chosen the mermaid movie. He liked the singing. He was a bit afraid of Ursula, but Alec would hold his hand and get him through those parts. Eliot settled in and started driving again, country music crooning on the stereo, too low to interfere with the movie’s songs.

It took a couple of hours, and Alec’s expertise, but they found a park right off the freeway, easy to get to. They spend almost two hours there, getting Owen tired out. They had a good game of tag going, all three of them chasing each other and Owen, who ran yelling like a banshee. A few early walkers stopped to watch them, and there were smiles. Owen was sagging by the time they loaded back up, and then they had to make another bathroom stop. They were actually making good time, but the stops were getting on Eliot’s nerves.

They had lunch in the car, more sandwiches and potato salad that Owen scarfed. It was a couple more hours until nap time, so they put on another other movie – ‘Milo and Otis’, which they all liked.

They were getting too close. Eliot felt a lump growing in his throat. Dammit, he needed to be professional about this. He had to be strong for the others. That was his job.

They made one more stop for gas and bathroom, then it was just the last stretch. Eliot and Hardison switched places again and Eliot took his place across from Owen.

Surprisingly, Parker wasn’t getting restless the way he’d expected her too. She watched the movies, fiddling with her locks, and she watched Owen. There was sadness in her eyes that hurt him, but he knew they were doing the right thing.

Eliot turned off the cartoons and started reading again, this time ‘The Secret Garden’. It didn’t matter if the story was too advanced for Owen at this age; it was about the words and the rhythm. Eliot had liked the book as a child, though it was considered a girls’ story. He was rediscovering a lot of childhood favorites with Owen. He would give this one to the Mortons so they could finish it for him.

Owen drifted off quickly, Truck held tightly. Parker was basically staring at him.

“You know,” Eliot said softly, not wanting to be overheard, “We could have one of our own. Someday.”

She shrugged, looking uncomfortable. 

“It doesn’t have to be you,” he pressed. “There are a lot of kids that need families. We’d have to scale back jobs, but it would be worth it.”

“The little ones freak me out,” she admitted with a grimace. “All the crying.”

“It wouldn’t have to be a little one.”

She shrugged again. “Maybe.”

He let it drop, not wanting to upset her further. She’d shared something personal with him and that didn’t happen very often. Though they’d been together for years, there was still a lot they didn’t know about her. A lot of things none of them would ever ask.

The afternoon was bright and sunny, Eliot considered if they should have changed Owen’s shirt after the playground. They had to make one last stop so they could all change into their professional suits, they could clean him up them. It would be tight quarters changing in the van, but it was big enough.

“I think we should stop soon,” he called to Alec. “Find an empty parking lot, maybe an abandoned business.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Alec snarked back.

It only took him fifteen minutes to find an abandoned dry cleaning business. They pulled in behind it and all got out. One at a time they got in and changed clothes. Then Eliot got in with Owen. He took off his shirt and wiped him down with baby wipes, which Owen objected to loudly, then wrestled him into a clean shirt, a blue tee with a screen print on it of Alec said were ‘Viking Kittens’, and a pair of dark jeans, with blue sneakers this time.

“You look awesome, little man,” he praised the boy as they climbed out of the van.

“Bring it in,” Alec said suddenly, holding out his arms. Eliot went into them, Owen between them. He gestured to Parker, who hesitated.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said, arms crossed over her chest.

“It’s not about what we want,” Alec told her. “It’s what’s best for him.”

She still hesitated. Alec reached out an arm, both of them reaching for her, urging her to join them. Finally she did, though she kept her arms crossed and really just leaned into them. Owen squirmed but put up with it.

Eliot leaned up and kissed Alec, warm and soft. He turned his head and kissed Parker the same way.

“It’s the right thing,” he said one final time.

“Yeah,” Alec echoed him. It took a minute, but Parker whispered her agreement.

“Yeah.”

They got back into the van and began the drive to the end.

It was mid-afternoon when they turned onto the Mortons’ street. It was all middle class houses, a nice suburb. Big houses, but not ostentatious, and theirs wasn’t the biggest house on the block. There were established trees and paved sidewalks, with a couple kids on bikes and several others playing in front yards. School must have just let out.

“It looks okay,” Parker said grudgingly. “Like there might be something nice to steal around here.”

“Not what we’re here for, babe,” Alec pointed out gently. 

“I know that. But it looks nice.”

Eliot rolled his eyes, knowing that she had decided it was a nice neighborhood based on what she thought might be available to steal.

“They probably have security systems,” he said, and they all laughed. 

Alec pulled up in front of a nice house. They had looked at it online, but took a minute to study it now. 

It was painted a pale blue with white trim. Hedges on either side of the door, a big tree in the middle of the yard and a front-facing two car garage. A pleasant paved walkway led to the front door.

The front door was painted a dark blue. They watched as it opened and the Mortons stepped out.

“Luka got tall,” Alec observed.

“He looks good,” Eliot said.

They didn’t move. Owen was still sleeping peacefully in his seat. 

The Mortons stayed at the door, not approaching them. Eliot imagined they were nervous. Hell, he was nervous. They’d never done anything like this before. Well, not really. Luka had been a different circumstance.

Dana raised her hand and waved. Alec put down the window and waved back.

“This is it,” Eliot said firmly. “Let’s go.”

“You get Owen,” Alec said quietly. “We’ll get his stuff.”

“We should take him in and introduce him first,” Eliot disagreed. “Go in together. We can get his things later.”

They didn’t have any idea how long they would be staying. If this were a normal adoption it would take two or three hours, they figured. Enough time to let Owen get settled and to sign all the paperwork they had brought to make this “official”. It might look weird to have three people delivering him, if the neighbors were watching, but there was no way around that. None of them were going to be left out. Truthfully, they were only guessing at how this was done, but they thought that different agencies must do it different ways and civilians weren’t going to know much about it anyhow.

“We’re taking too long,” Eliot said. He turned and began to unbuckle the sleeping boy. Owen protested sleepily but reached for him as soon as he was free. 

Eliot hoped – they all hoped – that the hand off went smoothly, but they weren’t counting on it. Owen still wasn’t fond of women and he wasn’t going to like a strange place. But this was the way it had to be done.

Parker opened the sliding door and Eliot climbed out, Owen secure in his arms. He shifted the boy to his hip and waited for the other two. They were all dressed in suits, even Parker. Nice ones, but not too nice. They were representing a private international adoption agency, and it seemed this was the sort of thing those people would wear. There had been some debate about it, but they all knew that blending in was usually the best way to go. Parker in pale blue, Alec in dark blue and Eliot in black, they thought they looked official enough without going over the top.

There were a few neighbors coming out, and the kids had stopped playing to look. If the Mortons had done their job correctly, the neighbors knew they were getting their new adopted son today. Curiosity was to be expected.

After a minute of waiting the Mortons came toward them, Luka behind his parents.

“Mr. Samuels, Miss. Patterson,” Joe said, sounding very happy. “Welcome.”

“Mr. Coffman, it’s so good to finally meet you,” Dana echoed.

It seemed like the whole neighborhood was holding its breath, waiting to see what happened next.

“It’s good to see you in person,” Eliot agreed. He paused just long enough. “Joe, Dana, Luka – this is Owen.”

He moved so that they met in the middle of the walk. The Mortons stopped a foot away, not reaching for Owen. They knew better than that.

“Owen,” Eliot said to the little boy. He looked at Eliot with bright eyes, but his hold on Truck was tight. “This is Dana and Joe. They’re very happy to meet you. Can you say hi?”

Owen studied them the way he did, and then waved a little.

“Hello, Owen,” Joe said. They had been warned that Owen might have a problem with Dana until he got used to her. “We’re so excited to meet you.”

“Why don’t we take this inside?” Alec said. “We’ve got some papers to go through and a final inspection of the house to do.” Of course they hadn’t done any inspections, but the chances were no one had noticed that. 

Parker held two briefcases. Dana and Joe turned to lead the way inside, with Luka ahead of them. Eliot held back a frown. They had been assured that Luka was pleased to be getting a sibling, but he wasn’t exactly acting like it. Maybe he, like Owen, needed a chance to warm up.

They knew what the house looked like inside, Dana had sent lots of pictures. It was really nice. Not too stylish, more comfortable. There was evidence of Luka to be seen; a jumbled pile of shoes by the door, a jacket thrown over the back of a dining room chair. Eliot felt a pang on loss, knowing that someday those would be Owen’s things, spread across the house he would grow up in. There were two large couches facing a large screen TV – much smaller than theirs at the loft, of course – an interesting coffee table, glass atop a gnarled wood base. Two side tables with lamps. 

“Please, have a seat,” Dana said. “I made coffee and cookies.”

“Cookies?” Owen asked, looking interested.

“Oatmeal chocolate chip,” Dana added. “Let me go get them.”

Now that they were there Eliot felt more uncomfortable than he ever had on a job. This was more important than any job they had done. This was Owen, who had become their little boy. And they were giving him up.

Parker sat beside him, putting the briefcases on the floor. Alec hovered, then sat on the other side. They were going to do this together, present a united front.

“I got something for him,” Luka said suddenly. “Some toys. Mom said he liked trucks –“

He went to a large sideboard and pulled out a brightly wrapped package, then returned and thrust it out toward Owen. “For you,” he told the little boy. Eliot smiled, feeling better about this.

“He went shopping on his own,” Joe said, his pride in the boy obvious. “Wanted to welcome him properly.”

“I didn’t know what he already had, but you can never have too many cars,” Luke added.

Alec took the gift and showed it to Owen. “Look, it’s for you. It’s from Luka. He’s going to be your big brother.”

Luka gave a little smile at that. Then he looked serious, too serious for a boy his age.

“I remember you guys, and what you did for me. I can never thank you enough, but thank you. You saved me.”

Alec looked slightly embarrassed and Parker looked briefly panicked, but Eliot found his voice to answer.

“We were happy to do it. It was mostly Parker.” He nudged his partner. “She wouldn’t give up on you and the others.”

“It was the right thing to do,” Parker said, sounding shy. It was unusual for her, but that had been a big hurdle for her, that case. Extremely personal. Eliot didn’t know what had passed between her and Alec then, but he knew that was when something started to grow between them. He had come later.

“Here,” Alec said to Owen. “You can unwrap it. It’s for you.” He peeled back a bit of wrapping paper and held it out to the boy. Owen reached for it and pulled hesitantly.

“That’s it, go on,” Eliot encouraged. Owen looked at him and then pulled hard, ripping a big strip of the paper and startling a laugh out of him. Eliot resisted the urge to close his eyes. He might never hear that sound again. “Keep going.”

With Eliot’s help the package was soon unwrapped, exposing a set of sleek metal cars, bigger than hot wheels but not baby-sized.

“Very cool,” Alec said.

“Do you want to play with them?” Eliot asked. Owen answered by trying to open the box.

“Here, like this,” Luka bent in and helped. Owen pulled back, but then got interested again and tried to help. Soon the two of them had it open and there were four cars; a blue Mustang, a black Corvette, a red F1-50 and a yellow convertible. Luke got them all out and put them on the coffee table. Owen wiggled free of Eliot and grabbed for them. “Can I play too?” Luka asked. Owen considered him and then handed him the Mustang. In a minute the two of them were making vroom noises and running the cars around.

Dana came back in and stopped, staring at them. She recovered herself in a minute, but Eliot could see the tears in her eyes. Joe was leaning closer from the armchair he had taken, his hands clasped tightly in his lap.

“Here we go,” Dana said cheerfully, though it sounded a little forced. “Cookies, coffee, and milk. I put yours in a sippy cup, Owen. I hope that’s alright?” she addressed the question to Eliot.

“Yeah, he’s still at the spilling things stage,” Alec answered. “But he eats like a horse.”

“A boy should have a good appetite,” Joe spoke up.

“You won’t find fault with his,” Eliot smiled a little.

“We made a list,” Parker said. “Of things he likes. Food and toys and books and movies and cartoons.” She paused, as if she were thinking of something. “But Truck is important. He likes Truck best.”

“He loves Truck,” Alec said.

“He has a favorite Truck?” Dana asked.

“Truck is the bunny,” Eliot laughed just a little bit. They had told the Mortons that Owen had a comfort toy, but apparently neglected to tell them the name of it. “He named it.”

“That’s adorable,” Dana said. Owen was reaching for the cookies, and Truck was firmly grasped in his free hand. Apparently cookies trumped cars.  
Eliot wanted to warn them that he shouldn’t be allowed to eat too many cookies, but it wasn’t his decision anymore. He had to trust these people to know that.

They had done a good job with Luka, a traumatized child that was now thriving. They could be trusted to do the same with Owen.

“I think we should get down to business,” he said. “We don’t want to stay so long it looks suspicious.”

“How long would be suspicious?” Joe asked.

“We asked people to stay away this week to give us some time to get him settled,” Dana added. “Even Joe’s parents.”

They knew that Dana’s own mother was in a care home, and that she visited at least once a week. Another point in their favor.

“Okay, “Alec said, and it sounded like he had a lump in his throat. “I’ve got lots of paperwork for you to sign. When we get home I’ll scan it all in and insert it into the right databases. Truthfully I only need one signature, I could copy it over to everything else, but I want you to have a copy of everything too, just like we did with Luka, in case there are ever questions.”

“But there won’t be,” Eliot hastened to assure them. “We know what we’re doing and he’s the best.”

“You better believe it,” Alec said, picking up a briefcase and opening it. Dana made room on the coffee table, moving the cookie tray to the other couch. Owen, with one cookie eaten, followed them. Luka laughed and went to sit on the floor beside him.

“He’s a messy eater,” he said, giving the little boy another cookie.

“Just one more,” Dana told him. “You too. I don’t know what dinner is going to be like but we’re going to sit down and have it.”

“Yeah, okay.” Luka pushed the tray away and turned back to the cars, picking up a couple and putting them on the couch. Owen, still eating his cookie and holding Truck, looked interested.

“So here we go,” Alec said.

Eliot watched as he walked the Mortons through the paperwork. Parker was leaning into him the way she did when she wanted reassurance and he put an arm around her, understanding. She didn’t seem able to say anything, probably a bit overwhelmed by her emotions. At home she would have probably headed for the rafters or climbed into an air vent by now.

It seemed to take forever, but it really wasn’t that long. Maybe forty-five minutes. Eliot used that time to watch Owen playing with Luka. The little boy kept throwing him glances, looking back at him, as if to make sure he was still there. Twice Parker shifted, once lifting her hand as if she would reach for him, but she restrained herself each time. Eliot held her more tightly. 

He could see a slight tremor in Alec’s hand as he touched papers, showing them where to sign, shuffling to the next page.

Then it was done.

“That’s all of it,” he said softly, eyes meeting Eliot’s and then Parker’s. his look said there’s still time to back out.

They all sat quietly for a little while, watching to two boys play. Luka was very patient for a teenager and Owen didn’t throw anything, though they had warned to Mortons that he liked to.

Finally Eliot sighed, and took his arm from Parker. He picked up the other briefcase.

“These are the lists we made,” he said, suddenly a little embarrassed. They’d probably gone overboard. “Not as much as you may need, but we’re only a phone call away. If you have any questions.”

“Or problems,” Parker said. “If you have any problems.”

“I think we’ll be okay,” Joe said. His eyes were on his wife, who was looking at the boys with a hesitant joy. Eliot understood not being able to quite trust miracles, and it seemed like Owen was that to these people. 

Alec and Parker were Eliot’s miracle.

“I don’t know how he’s going to react when we leave,” Eliot said.

“I imagine he’s going to cry,” Dana replied. “But we can handle it.”

“Should we – say goodbye?” Alec looked at Eliot. “Would that upset him?”

“I don’t want to say goodbye,” Parker stated.

“I think we should just try to sneak out.”

“That seems cruel,” Alec objected.

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Then we’ll say goodbye.” Eliot was sure it was a bad idea, but it felt right, too, in a way. It might be worse for Owen, and he would never remember it, but maybe it would be okay.

He slid off the couch and reached for Owen. The boy turned, seeing him, and pressed forward into his arms. Eliot cuddled him close. Alec joined him on the floor, Luka politely moving out of the way, and then Parker was there too, just on the outskirts, lying her hand on Owen’s curly head.  
Eliot felt tears welling in his eyes and gulped them back. Alec put his arms around both of them. Owen squirmed a little, not understanding the tight grip. He wanted to get back to his cars and cookies, but he must have felt something was wrong because suddenly he was pushing himself closer to Eliot.

“You be a good boy,” Eliot said gruffly.

“No skipping school,” Alec said, sounding as choked up as Eliot felt. “School is important.”

“He’s not going to be in school for another year, Hardison,” Eliot managed a growl.

“But school is important,” Alec insisted in a watery voice.

“He’ll be great,” Parker whispered. “Someday you steal something shiny,” she told the boy.

“Parker,” Eliot groaned. She just ran her fingers through Owen’s hair.

They hugged and petted him and Owen snuggled into it, accepting their love and affection. It was only love that could make Eliot do this. To make them give up their boy.

Eliot heaved a deep breath.

“Okay.”

He stood, Alec moving with him and Parker taking a half-step away. 

“You should take him,” he told Joe. He didn’t want to try handing him to Dana, a woman he didn’t know, not yet. They felt sure that he would  
accept her in time; she had a therapist and a speech therapist all lined up and they would work that all out. They’d done it with Luka, they could do it with Owen. 

“Yeah,” Joe agreed. Dana watched them, but didn’t get up or move closer.

“Here, Owen,” Eliot told him. “Let’s hand you off to Joe. He’s going to be your dad now.”

Owen looked confused and clung even tighter to Eliot as Joe stood and held out his arms.

“It’s okay, baby boy,” Alec crooned. “You’re going to be happy here.”

“And safe,” Parker added quietly. “He has to be safe.”

“Yeah,” Eliot agreed. He began to pry Owen’s fingers from his shirt. Alec stepped in to be held and Owen started to whimper.

He let out a wail when they got one hand free. Joe waited patiently. By the time Eliot was transferring him over to the waiting arms Owen was crying loudly, as if his heart was breaking. Eliot felt the same way.

“We’ll just get out of here,” Alec said. “We’ve, um, we’ve got a couple of suitcases in the van –“

“I’ll get them,” Luka volunteered. His eyes were wide, like he hadn’t been expecting this.

“Thank you, son,” Joe said, hardly heard over the crying. 

Owen leaned over in Joe’s arms, reaching for Eliot as hard as he could. Joe kept a firm grip and took a step away. The crying got louder and the threesome just looked at each other for a few seconds.

“We should go,” Parker said, just loud enough for the others to hear her in close quarters. “We’re just making it worse.”

Eliot turned to her and gave her a short, hard hug, surreptitiously wiping his eyes. Then he stretched a little and turned back. He leaned in and kissed Owen’s forehead, ignoring the cries. Then he turned and walked straight out of the house. He went to the van and climbed into the driver’s seat.

Alec and Parker followed more slowly. Eliot wondered, briefly, if he was being fair to him. They loved the boy as much as he did. But they would understand. They all had trouble processing strong emotion, but it was worse for him and Parker, who had spent so much of their lives suppressing it.

He heard the back door open, and Alec talking to Luka.

“He’ll be okay,” Luke was saying. “Mom and Dad are going to be great with him. They’re so excited.”

“You’re going to make an awesome big brother,” Alec said generously. Eliot couldn’t see it but he knew the teenager must be smiling.  
Parker climbed into the front passenger seat, whispering “Shotgun.” to herself. It made Eliot smile just a little. They had done away with shotgun riles because it led to too many arguments, but she couldn’t quite let it go.

Then the back doors slammed shut and Eliot watched Luka go up the path, carrying the two blue suitcases filled with Owen’s best clothes and favorite toys and books, and his Batman throw blanket.

Alec leaned over the console and they all watched him get to the door. He paused and waved at them. Eliot sketched a wave back. He glanced around, but there was no one left outside, everyone was probably in at dinner, doing homework, normal things. A dog was barking somewhere close.

“Time to go home,” he said softly.

“Back to reality,” Alec echoed. He sounded so sad, Eliot wished they were home already. He felt like he could still hear Owen crying.

“Let’s go.”

Eliot started the van and pulled away from the curb. They had a long, sad drive ahead of them. Someday they might feel happy to have done this, but that day seemed a long way away.

They arrived home in the afternoon. None of them had wanted to get a hotel room and stay overnight in LA, so Alec and Eliot took turns sleeping and driving. Parker was restless, so she climbed over the seats many times, on her hands and knees on top of them. She reorganized the coolers, which still had a lot of food in them; Eliot had made quite a bit. None of them felt like eating during the drive, just stopping for coffee and gas.  
Parker spent a good hour curled up on top of Eliot while he slept, not registering her as a threat. Eventually she settled and went back to watching Disney movies, but there was no telling what was going on in her head.

Now they were home, and no-one wanted to get out of the van. All three were awake; Alec hadn’t gone back to sleep after his last turn at the wheel.

“I guess we should go inside,” Eliot said gruffly. He could still hear Owen crying in his head.

“I’ll get a cooler,” Alec said after a minute.

“I’m hungry.” Parker popped up between the two front seats. “Eliot, cook for us.”

He graced her with a small smile. A year ago she would have demanded he cook for her, not all of them.

“I’m not making breakfast,” he warned. He didn’t tell her he had left the makings of one of her favorite meals upstairs.

She pouted.

“How about apricot chicken?” he suggested. It wasn’t a difficult dish, as long as he put extra jam on her serving. “With couscous and almonds.”

She seemed to consider it, then nodded. Before he could open his door to get out she was spider-crawling over the console and into his lap again, straddling him with her hands on his shoulders.

“I didn’t like it when he cried.”

“No-one did, Mama,” Alec spoke up. He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. Eliot mirrored the action and they were all connected.

“It made me want to cry,” Parker announced. Her grip was tight on Eliot’s shoulders. “I don’t like to cry.”

“No-one does,” Eliot echoed Alec.

“But it can be good for you.” Alec rubbed her back. “It can clear out what feels bad and then you feel…”

“Lighter,” Eliot supplied.

“Yeah. Lighter.”

“Cleaner inside.”

“So I should cry?” Now she just looked confused. Eliot hated it when she looked like that. Maybe this was a Sophie issue. He put his free hand on her face, cradling it.

“Only if it comes to you.”

The two men waited to see if she was going to say anything else, but she seemed to have decided to think about it. After a few minutes her grip loosened and she leaned forward, kissing Eliot’s forehead gently.

“I’ll see you upstairs.”

She opened the driver’s side window and eeled out of it, landing on her hands and walking over to her feet.

They watcher stride calmly to the stairs.

“I guess we should go up,” Alec sighed.

“Yeah.” Eliot didn’t move.

“E?”

“Just gimme a minute.”

Alec ran his hand down Eliot’s arm, brushing his fingers with his own.

“Okay.”

He opened his door and got out.

Eliot sat silent while Alec opened the back doors and hefted out one of the coolers. He shut the door with his foot and Eliot considered scolding him for mistreating the vehicle, but he didn’t have it in him.

He sat silently while Alec lugged the cooler up the outside stairs. Saw a flash of blond hair when Parker opened the door for him. Alec glanced back, but Eliot sat awhile longer.

Finally he sighed as well. Leaning forward, he rested his head on the steering wheel.

He heard Alec come back down the stairs, recognizing his distinctive step and stride. Alec didn’t approach him. Eliot listened as he got the other cooler out and slammed the door again.

That left two duffles of clothes and such, and one filled with climbing gear because Parker couldn’t go anywhere without it. Eliot sighed again, sat up, and got out of the van.

Dinner was okay. It wasn’t his best. The dried apricots were chopped too finely and he put too much jam in the whole thing, not just Parker’s share. It was overly sweet on his tongue but the other two seemed to like it.

“I want to watch a movie,” Parker said. “After dinner.”

“I’m pretty tired,” Eliot said quietly. “I think I’ll turn in early.”

“I’ll watch a movie with you,” Alec said. “Your choice.”

“Land Before Time.”

“Which one?”

“All of them.”

“No, we aren’t going to watch eight kids’ dinosaur movies.”

“Six.”

“Two…” he said slowly.

“Four!”

“Twooo…”

“Fine.” She got up from the table, leaving her dishes behind. She went to the sofa and pulled up the remote from between the cushions. Eliot stood and began stacking plates.

“I’ve got it,” Alec told him. “You go lie down.”

“You sure?” Eliot barely trusted Alec to clean the kitchen properly, but right now he didn’t feel like arguing about it. “Okay. Thank you.”

He turned and headed for the bedrooms. He passed the door to their room and continued on to the guestroom. It had only been Owen’s for a few weeks, and now every sign of him was gone, save for a few wrinkles in the bedspread. Closing his eyes, he lay down, head on a pillow.

His chest was tight, but he didn’t cry. Fumbling in the covers, he brought the second pillow out and pulled it over his face, pressing down lightly. He held it there, held his breath, until colors sparkled behind his eyelids.

“Hey, none of that.” Alec’s voice was gentle, like his hands when he lifted the pillow away. Eliot realized his eyes were wet and he covered them with his arm.

“Shh, shh,” Alec lay down beside him, gathering him in long arms. Eliot wrapped his arms around him and took a deep breath.

“I’m not going to cry,” he sighed, drawl thick.

“Even after what we told Parker?”

“It’s not like something bad happened to him. He’ll be well loved and cared for.”

“We’ll get pictures and video.”

“For a while.” Eliot shrugged a bit. “They’re going to want to forget how they got him. And one day he’ll start asking questions and they’ll tell him the story we made up. There won’t be any contact after that, if it goes on that long.”

Alec hugged him tighter, his nose brushing Eliot’s neck.

“You sure know how to depress a guy.”

They could hear the movie playing in the living room. Parker laughed, her familiar half-snort, and Eliot smiled.

“We should watch with her.”

“I’ve got a better idea.” Slowly Alec rolled away from Eliot and slid off the bed while Eliot watched. The tall man came around to Eliot, took his hand and tugged gently. “Come to our bed.”

Eliot groaned and heaved himself up. it seemed like emotional distress made all his old injuries ache.

“You okay?”

“Just gettin’ old.”

“Nah, you aren’t allowed to get old. You got us to keep you young.”

“He sure does!” Parker piped, popping up behind him. Both men startled.

“I’m not gonna get old because she’s going to give me a heart attack,” Eliot grumbled.

“Woman! Not in the house!” Alec blew out a breath.

“Sorry,” she said, but it was clear she didn’t mean it. Sometimes she said it because it was just something people did. “Are we going to bed?”

“Thought you were watching a movie.” Eliot rubbed at his eyes.

“You’re more important than a movie.”

“Good to know,” Eliot gave a small chuckle. “Yeah, today’s been hard. Let’s go to bed.”

“Come on,” Alec pulled Eliot in under his arm, tucked into his side. It wasn’t a position Eliot would normally allow. But he was tired and heartsore and the affection felt good. He didn’t need protecting here, but if Alec wanted to offer Eliot would take it.

In their bedroom Alec positioned Eliot at the foot of the bed. Eliot frowned, not understanding, and began to take off his shirt.

“Hey babe, we got you,” Alec said, taking over the job. Eliot felt Parker’s hands at his back, helping. “You just stand there and look pretty.”

“I ain’t pretty,” he growled irritably. Alec stroked his bare chest, both shirts pushed up, and Eliot decided not to fuss about it. He raised his arms so they could get the shirts off and then Alec went to his knees to unlace his boots. Parker’s clever hands came around his waist and started to unbuckle his belt.

“Lift,” Alec said, and Eliot did, allowing him to pull the first boot off. Then the other, and Parker had his jeans undone. She dragged them down, jeans and underwear both. He lifted his feet again so Alec could get those off.

Now he stood naked in their bedroom, both of his lovers still dressed, not knowing what was coming next. The room was comfortably warm. Alec was kneeling in front of him and Parker was running her fingers through his hair.

He wasn’t in a hurry for anything. If they just went to bed and slept he’d be good. He already felt better for their care and attention.  
Alec stood and pressed him backwards.

“Sit.”

He sat on the bed, Parker moving to stand next to Alec. The two of them stripped without fanfare and Alec took a couple steps forward and went to his knees again. Eliot held himself still, knowing what was coming. Parker slipped onto the bed beside him, sitting cross-legged, and turned his head to face her. She kissed him and he kissed back, almost chastely as they both kept their mouths closed. Their lips pressed, released, pressed again. Eliot felt the first stirring of arousal. It might take him a bit longer to get hard these days, but he made up for it in stamina.

Alec used his big hands to softly spread Eliot’s legs before he leaned in to nuzzle at his thighs. In spite of, or because of, the violence in his life, Eliot liked gentle sex sometimes. He wouldn’t hesitate to call it making love, he wasn’t embarrassed. It wasn’t always that way, but it was never rough, never degrading or humiliating. He’d found two lovers that felt the same way. Sometimes their relationship felt like a miracle to him.

Alec lipped, kissed and nibbled on his thighs, working his way up to the crease of his hip. He ducked down to kiss and nuzzle Eliot’s balls, still gentle. Eliot could feel himself getting thicker, responding to the delicate stimulation. He sighed softly, leaning back on his elbows and continuing to kiss Parker, who pulled him closer to her. He kissed her neck, behind her ear, leaving little kitten-licks of affection, just the tip of his tongue to taste. She always tasted sweet. 

He spread his legs wider as Alec worked his balls, licking and sucking at them.

“Yeah, Alec,” he breathed.

“Want some more?” Alec asked in a murmur.

“Yeah.”

His partner rose up slightly, his mouth even with Eliot’s cock. It was filling out all the way now, hard and smooth between his legs. Alec breathed on it for a minute, making it twitch, and then he licked the head like a popsicle. Eliot rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything. Alec could do this however he wanted. The man liked giving head and Eliot never had any complaints. After another minute of teasing licks he dropped his mouth over the head and sucked hard.

“Shit!” Eliot cursed as he stiffened further. “That’s too much, Alec, too much –“

“Alec popped off long enough to say “Give it a minute,” and then went back to it. Eliot’s hands gripped the comforter and Parker slid closer to his side, plastering herself there so they could kiss harder, long kisses, mouths moving. The intensity of the stimulation faded slightly and Eliot turned his head to gasp a deep breath.

“Good?” Alec asked, backing off again. He was very careful of them, his partners, knowing well the mine field they all walked in bed. It had been a long time since anyone was triggered, but they were all careful, Alec most of all. Sometimes Eliot envied him his life, that hadn’t included the horrors Eliot had suffered, the ones they believed Parker had.

“Awesome,” he managed to gasp out. He was so turned on. “Don’t stop.”

“I want to fuck you.”

Eliot gasped again. “Yes, let’s do that.”

“Here –“ Alec was up, nudging and shifting Eliot until he had him where he wanted him. Eliot sighed and relaxed into it. He knew this one; it was a favorite for comfort sex. He was on his side, Parker in front of him and Alec behind him. Parker wrapped a leg over his hip and her arms around his neck as they kissed more. He could feel the heat and damp of her on his cock, but it wasn’t time to go inside. Behind him Alec prepped gently, taking his time. Eliot was so hard, he hadn’t thought he could get this hard anymore. “Easy,” Alec whispered in his ear. “I got you, E. I’m gonna make you feel so good.”

Eliot could only moan against Parker’s mouth, her face, her neck. His hands found her breasts and he stroked gently, the way she liked it. He wanted to drop his head and suckle them, but he didn’t want to move away from Alec’s nimble fingers.

Finally Alec was satisfied. He spread Eliot with both hands, nudging at his entrance. He was waiting for permission, and Eliot gave it eagerly.

“Come inside,” he sighed. “Alec.”

The bigger man worked his way in slowly. Eliot felt himself relax more with every inch, until he was a puddle of need wrapped in Parker’s arms. 

“Move, Alec,” Parker ordered him.

“Yes, ma’am.”

He began to rock slowly. Eliot was still, locked between them. He felt everything; Parker’s heat, the softness of her breasts, the taste of her lips. Alec’s harsh breaths against the back of his neck. Alec’s hands gripping his hips just hard enough. Alec inside him, filling him with so much more than sex.

It was perfect the way nothing in his life had ever been. His eyes stung and he closed them to concentrate more fully on what he was feeling, what they were all feeling. Parkers hand slipped down and touched him, stroked him loosely and he didn’t want her to hurry up, he wasn’t ready for this to end.

No matter what else happened in their lives, they would always have each other.


End file.
